KEY POINTS
- At least 10 Nigerian state governors are using consensus arrangements to displace incumbent senators ahead of the 2027 elections.
- President Tinubu rebuffed senators’ lobbying for automatic tickets and ceded primary control to state governors.
- Affected senators include Danjuma Goje in Gombe, Gbenga Daniel in Ogun and Osita Izunaso in Imo, with several others stepping aside under pressure.
At least 10 Nigerian state governors are muscling incumbent senators out of their seats ahead of the 2027 elections. The realignment came after President Bola Tinubu rebuffed lawmakers lobbying for automatic tickets and ceded primary control to state governors.
The governors, whose tenure expires by May 2027, are leveraging their grip on party structures to secure Senate tickets through consensus arrangements. Most belong to the ruling APC.
Tinubu’s pivotal call
Specifically, Tinubu told Senate leaders at a Villa meeting last month that governors were the leaders of the party in their states and must have a say on who gets the ticket. The signal sealed the fate of many sitting senators who had counted on automatic returns.
“He has delegated and ceded his executive power to the governors to conduct primaries in accordance with the Electoral Act,” Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago said after the meeting.
Notably, the same script has played out in state after state. Party stakeholders endorse the governor or an anointed candidate, rivals step aside under pressure, and primaries become symbolic.
In Yobe State, Senator Musa Mustapha formally stepped aside to back Governor Mai Mala Buni for the Yobe East Senate seat. He withdrew from both the Senate race and the governorship contest at a Government House stakeholders’ meeting.
Furthermore, in Gombe, four-term Senator Danjuma Goje lost his bid to return to the chamber. A consensus zoning arrangement favored a candidate aligned with Governor Muhammadu Yahaya. Goje’s longstanding political rift with Yahaya shaped the outcome.
In Imo, the APC named Governor Hope Uzodimma as the consensus candidate for Imo West, displacing incumbent Senator Osita Izunaso. Former Governor Rochas Okorocha has bought a nomination form to challenge Uzodimma, setting up a tense primary.
Open conflict in Ogun
Meanwhile, the Ogun State arrangement has broken into open conflict. Governor Dapo Abiodun’s declaration for the Ogun East seat collided with incumbent Senator Gbenga Daniel, who declared the caucus endorsement of the governor null and void.
Specifically, Daniel’s pushback contrasts with the smoother handovers in Adamawa, where incumbent Senator Amos Yohanna purchased nomination forms for Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, and Nasarawa, where Governor Abdullahi Sule’s nomination went forward without challenge.
Additionally, in Delta, party leaders are positioning former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to replace incumbent Senator Ned Nwoko in Delta North. Both belong to the APC after Okowa’s recent defection from the PDP. In Kwara, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has picked up the APC form for Kwara Central.
In Borno, Senator Kaka Lawan retained his seat after Vice President Kashim Shettima brokered a deal that pushed him out of the governorship race. He now backs the governor’s anointed governorship candidate.
Pushback and casualties about consensus Senate tickets
Crucially, not every aspirant accepted the script. Former Cross River Governor Ben Ayade said party leaders asked him to drop his Senate ambition after a high-level consultation, pleading with the president to revisit the directive.
With the APC primaries calendar set and consensus arrangements hardening, Nigeria’s red chamber is on track for a dramatic membership shake-up. Whether the displaced senators fight back, defect or yield quietly will define the next phase of the 2027 contest.
