Full List of Nigerian governors contesting for Senate seat in 2027
Nine serving state governors are reportedly preparing to contest Senate seats after leaving office in 2027.
According to Business Day, the governors are Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara and Hope Uzodimma of Imo.
Their possible entry into the 2027 Senate contests is expected to affect political arrangements in their respective states, particularly in places where serving senators may have to defend their positions against the governors.Access Services
The development could further increase the number of former governors in the National Assembly.
The current Senate already has several politicians who previously occupied Government Houses across the country.
Among them are Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Danjuma Goje, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Abubakar Sani Bello, Seriake Dickson, Gbenga Daniel, Orji Uzor Kalu, Adams Oshiomhole, Adamu Aliero, Abdulaziz Yari, Aliyu Wamakko and Simon Lalong.
Some of these politicians moved into the Senate shortly after completing their terms as governors and have remained active in national politics.
Goje, who governed Gombe State from 2003 to 2011, moved to the Senate after his tenure and has continued to serve there. Akpabio also moved from the Akwa Ibom Government House, where he served between 2007 and 2015, to the Senate in 2015.Track Bills
Akpabio later became Senate Minority Leader and served as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs before returning to the Senate in 2023. He is currently the President of the Senate.Buy Maps
Aliero, who served as governor of Kebbi State, also has a long history in the Senate. He first became a senator in 2007 before leaving the chamber after he was appointed a minister during the administration of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.Follow Politics
Several other former governors, including Yari, Lalong, Sani Bello, Oshiomhole and Daniel, are currently serving their first terms in the 10th Senate.
Former Ebonyi State governor Dave Umahi and former Yobe State governor Ibrahim Gaidam also moved to the Senate after leaving office. Both later left their seats after being appointed ministers.
The movement of former governors into the Senate is not a new development in Nigeria. Vice President Kashim Shettima, for instance, represented Borno Central in the Senate after serving as governor of Borno State before later becoming vice president.Access Services
Other former governors who have served in the Senate include George Akume and Gabriel Suswam of Benue, Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu, Theodore Orji and Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia, Joshua Dariye and Jonah Jang of Plateau, Sani Yerima of Zamfara, Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna, Bukola Saraki of Kwara, and Tanko Al-Makura and Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa.
The Senate remains attractive to former governors because it provides them with a platform to stay active in national politics after leaving their state offices.
After spending up to eight years controlling political structures in their states, some former governors seek to retain their influence through the National Assembly. A Senate seat also gives them access to federal policymaking and allows them to remain involved in the affairs of their political parties.
However, the growing number of former governors in the legislature has also raised questions about how effectively they perform their duties as lawmakers.
Experience as a governor does not automatically translate into effective parliamentary work. Senators are expected to take part in debates, sponsor and support legislation, participate in committees, represent their constituents and monitor government agencies and spending.
The records of former governors in the Senate have therefore been mixed.
Some, including Akpabio, Aliero, Dickson, Oshiomhole, Kalu, Lalong, Daniel and Goje, have been more visible in legislative activities, while others have faced criticism over their participation in plenary sessions and debates.Access Services
Their records on bill sponsorship have also differed.
A review conducted in 2024 found that 24 senators had not sponsored a bill during the period examined. Four former governors, Oshiomhole, Dickson, Lalong and Yari, were among those whose names did not appear as sponsors of bills at the time. Some of them later sponsored legislation.
Kalu had five bills, Daniel had four, while Dankwambo and Sani Bello had three each. Akpabio, Goje and Wamakko had two each, while Aliero and Tambuwal had one.Follow Politics
However, the number of bills introduced by a senator does not alone determine how productive the lawmaker has been.
Some bills may not move beyond the early stages of the legislative process, while a senator with fewer bills may be deeply involved in committee assignments, investigations, oversight activities and debates.
An assessment of the ninth National Assembly by OrderPaper Nigeria also showed differences in the legislative records of former governors.Track Bills
The review, which examined activities between June 2019 and May 2021, found that only nine of the 17 former governors in the Senate had sponsored at least five bills within their first two years.
Former Kano State governor Ibrahim Shekarau had not sponsored a bill during the period, while former Enugu governor Chimaroke Nnamani had sponsored one. Aliero, Gaidam and Goje had two each.
Former Ogun governor Ibikunle Amosun recorded the highest number of bills among the former governors examined but did not rank among the lawmakers considered most productive when the progress of their bills through the legislative process was taken into account.
