As activities for the next general elections hots up, there are indications that more governors are planning to run for the Senate seats in their respective constituencies in 2027.
Checks by our correspondents revealed that no less than eight serving governors are eyeing the Senate seats in various states of the federation and they’re mainly governors who are completing their second tenure and wouldn’t be recontesting the governorship position in 2027.
Governors, who are serving their second terms are; Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Babagana Zulum of Borno, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Douye Diri of Bayelsa, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe.
Of the 11, only two are believed not to have not shown any form of interest in vying for the Senate seat, while some are flying the kite through the sponsorship of groups calling on them to contest and others keeping the decision close to their chests.
If the nine are to have their way and the set of former governors currently in the Senate recontest and win elections back to the Red Chamber, it would shoot the number of former governors in Senate to an all time high of 23 as there are currently no less than 14 former governors in the Senate.
The former governors who are senators in the 10th National Assembly are; Danjuma Goje, who was governor of Gombe State between 2003 and 2011 and won elections to the Senate after leaving office and has retained the seat since then.
There’s also former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, who is the President of the senate. He won the election to represent North-West in in the eighth Assembly and became the minority leader then, contested in 2023 and won to attain his current position.
Another former governor is Simon Lalong of Plateau State who is currently representing the Southern senatorial zone of his state. Former Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo is also in the Red Chamber representing Gombe North Senatorial District; Abubakar Sani Bello, former governor of Niger State representing Niger North; Seriake Dickson, former governor of Bayelsa State, representing Bayelsa West; Gbenga Daniels, former governor of Ogun State; Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia State; Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo State; Adamu Aleiro,ex-governor of Kebbi State, Abdulaziz Yari, former governor of Zamfara State, representing Zamfara West Senatorial District and Magtakarda Aliu Wamakko, former governor of Sokoto State.
Immediate past governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi and former governor of Yobe, Ibrahim Gaidam also won elections to the Senate but were appointed ministers along the line and had to vacate their seats.
Aleiro holds the highest record of former governors returning to the senate, as he has been there since 2007 leaving only briefly when he was appointed minister during the Umaru Yar’adua administration. But Yari, Lalong, Sani Bello, Oshiomhole and Gbenga Daniles are serving their first tenure in the Red Chamber.
Due to the high number of governors that have chosen to go the Senate after leaving Government House the Red Chamber has been described by some persons as retirement home for governors.
Analyst say the governors choose to go to the Senate after leaving office because it sustains their relevance in politics and keeps them within the power loop.
Other reasons advanced is that having benefited from the perks in office as governors it offers them a sense of power and a soft landing from the drastic transformation to ordinary citizens.
Other former governors who have gone the same path in the past include Vice President Kashim Shettima from Borno; George Akume and Gabriel Suswam from Benue; Chimaroke Nnamani from Enugu;Theodore Orji from Abia; Joshua Dariye, Plateau; Abdulalhi Adamu and Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa; Jonah Jang, Plateau; Sani Yerima from Zamfara State, Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna State and Bukola Saraki, Kwara.
Late Senator Isiaka Adeleke and Bukar Abba Ibrahim on the other hand, were governors of Osun and Yobe respectively in 1992 and later won elections to the Senate and represented Osun West between 2007 to 2011.
Those that attempted and either lost or withdrew in previous elections are; Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta; Samuel Ortom, Benue; Abdulfatai Ahmed, Kwara and Sullivan Chime, Enugu.
Second republic governors who were in the Senate include, Melford Okilo, Jim Nwobodo,
Associate Professor of Political Science, Kayode Esuola said in theory, it should be something that should be encouraged because finishing from the position of the governor gives them the opportunity to understand the system.
He said, “However, because of the practical situation in which everybody in Nigeria, you don’t need the wisdom of Solomon, knows that they are going there for the largesse, immunity advantage. What will shield them from their undoing and two, to continue amassing wealth for themselves at the expense of the Nigerian people.”
Gombe State is currently being represented by two of its former governors, Goje and Dankwambo. While in Plateau, three of its former governors have been to the Senate at different times, but two of them were at the Senate at the same time (2015-2019) Jonah Jang (Plateau North), Joshua Dariye (Plateau Central).
In the same vein former governors Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for Kano Central, and Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya for Kano South, were at the Senate at the same time while Umaru Tanko Al-Makura (representing Nasarawa South), Abdullahi Adamu (representing Nasarawa West) were also at the Senate at the same time.
The current bids
Gombe’s Yahaya: beyond speculation
In Gombe State, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, will complete his two-term tenure in May 2027, and there are strong indications that the governor will vie for the Senate seat to represent Gombe North Senatorial District.
The governor is from the same senatorial district with the incumbent, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who is currently representing the zone at the National Assembly, after completing two term tenure as governor of the state.
Although the governor is yet to publicly indicate his interest to contest for the seat, his political associates are already strategising for him to contest for the seat come 2027.
Also, during public functions, supporters of the governor openly call on him to vie for the ticket to represent the zone at the National Assembly.
In what appeared as an open endorsement of the move, last Wednesday, a political group, Funakaye Progressives Association from Funakaye Local Government Area of the state, endorsed Governor Yahaya to represent the zone as a senator in the 2027 elections.
The group comprising politicians, business groups and other stakeholders converged on the Government House, where they presented their request to the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abubakar Inuwa Kari, calling on the governor to contest for Senate come 2027.
Convener of the association, Dr Buhari Magaji, said they unanimously endorsed Governor Yahaya for the Senate seat, being the most qualified for the position from the zone.
He said after careful assessment of the developmental projects executed by the governor in Funakaye LGA, other five LGAs of the zone and across the state in the last six years, the group found him as the right candidate to represent the zone at the National Assembly.
Dr Magaji added that key stakeholders from the LGA, which is one of the five LGAs from the Gombe North senatorial district, have deliberated and decided to converge on the Government House to appeal to Governor Yahaya, “being the most-qualified for the position from the zone”, to accept their request and contest for the position.
He stated that the stakeholders from the Funakaye LGA have pledged to continue supporting policies and programmes of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration in the state, which he said are improving the livelihoods of residents of the zone and the state at large.
Also speaking, Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Sadam Bello, supported the group’s endorsement and declared unflinching support for Governor Yahaya’s administration.
Bello, who is representing Funakaye North State Constituency, added that it was a unanimous agreement that Governor Inuwa Yahaya should contest for the Senate during the 2027 general election. “I am optimistic that our governor, being a democrat, will listen to the voices of his people and answer our call.”
Responding, the Chief of Staff, Abubakar Inuwa Kari, pledged to deliver the group message to the governor.
He added that he is optimistic, that the governor as a democrat will do the right thing when the time comes.
In the event Governor Yahaya decides to contest the seat, it will be an epic battle between two political rivals.
Our correspondent reports that it would be a repeat of the 2025 elections when Governor Yahaya challenged then Governor Dankwambo, who was seeking his second term in office.
One of the governor’s associates, who craved anonymity, told Weekend Trust that barring a change of political permutations, Governor Inuwa Yahaya will vie for the Senate seat come 2027.
“I can assure you that at the right time Governor Yahaya will announce his intention to contest for Gombe-North Senatorial seat,. We are working towards that, unless political permutations tilt towards something more favourable, definitely he will contest the Senate seat at the end of his tenure,” he said.
Nasarawa North and Gov Sule
As the countdown to the 2027 general elections continues the stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa North Senatorial District have unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Governor Abdullahi Sule, for the Senate seat.
The incumbent is Senator Godiya Akwashiki (SDP) but the gubernatorial candidate of APGA, the former minister of information, Labaran Maku, the former deputy governor during late Aliyu Akwe Doma, Micheal Abdul, who contested the Senate seat with Akwashiki in 2019, are said to still be interested in the race.
There are also Nathaniel Aya-Akwashiki (PDP) Benbella Madaki (PDP) and Nathaniel Aboki (PDP) among others who are yet to declare publicly in the zone, that are alleged to be aspiring for the same senatorial seat.
Our correspondent reports that the political atmosphere in the zone is already charged, with major contenders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Parties (PDP), and Social Democratic Party (SDP), quietly intensifying consultations.
The former Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government, Timothy Anjide, had recently conveyed their position during a high-level stakeholders meeting held in Akwanga, the headquarters of Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Our correspondent also reports that the expanded meeting, convened at the instance of the Chairmen of Akwanga, Wamba, and Nasarawa Eggon Local Government areas of the state, brought together critical APC stakeholders from across Nasarawa North, targeted at fostering unity and repositioning the party for continued success.
Speaking during the meeting in the Nasarawa Northern senatorial district, the former Secretary to the State Government, Timothy Anjide, disclosed that the stakeholders had unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Governor Abdullahi Sule and endorsed him due to “his transformative leadership and his developmental strides in the states”.
His words, “Stakeholders are united in their call for Governor Sule to represent Nasarawa North in the Senate, as a continuation of his impactful leadership.”
They further applauded the governor’s developmental strides and exemplary governance.
Anjide then reaffirmed the stakeholders’ loyalty to the APC and pledged to strengthen the party’s grassroots structures across wards and local government areas, emphasising youth and women empowerment as top priorities moving forward.
The Director-General of the state’s Bureau for Pension Administration, Suleiman Musa-Nagogo, had on May 19, 2025, announced that Governor Sule had declared his intention to run for the Nasarawa North senatorial district seat during the 2027 general election.
He revealed this while speaking with stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in the Wamba Local Government Area of the state.
According to Nagogo, he had been informed by the governor of his intention to contest the election to represent the Nasarawa North senatorial district in 2027.
He said, “I have been in Wamba with a crystal clear message from His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, to simply introduce a very important subject matter to the people of my own home, Wamba Local Government Area.
“That important message is to inform them that he is desirous of contesting for the office of Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come 2027.”
Nagogo explained that following his resolve to contest the Senate seat, Governor Sule has appointed a committee to handle the project across the Nasarawa North senatorial district.
But, the Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Addra, recently debunked the claim made by Nagogo, saying the governor has not and did not send anybody to declare his intention to contest the Senate position and that the governor has repeatedly debunked publications and rumour that he is contesting the senatorial position 2027.
His words, “Despite pressure from supporters and political allies the governor has maintained his initial stand not to run for the position of the senate in 2027. This assertion is untrue and definitely did not emanate from Governor Abdullahi Sule.”
Speaking with our correspondent, an ally of Governor Sule, Obed Gomna, the former overseer of Akwanga West Development Area said, “We are begging Governor Abdullahi Sule to come and contest for Nasarawa North Senatorial District because he has done well in the areas of security, construction of roads network across the state and the flyover and underpass project in Lafia. There are also the ongoing fly over and underpass projects in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state as well as the inauguration of Keffi flyover and underpass project to the tune of N11 billion.”
Reacting to the endorsement, Adamu Bako Ninga, state chairman of the People Democratic Party (PDP), explained that PDP in the state has never lost any election since inception, reiterating the preparedness of the party to continue to win elections.
Dapo Abiodun – Ogun East
Governor Dapo Abiodun who will be completing his second term in office in 2027 had in the past been unlucky with his senatorial ambition.
Twice, he contested the Ogun East Senatorial seat but was unsuccessful.
In 2015, he ran under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but lost to the late business mogul and politician, Buruji Kashamu, who contested under the PDP.
Abiodun challenged Kashamu’s emergence at the tribunal and won. However, the judgement was upturned at the Court of Appeal in favour of Kashamu who completed his four-year term at the Red Chamber.
He had contested and won senatorial election in 1997 under the platform of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) to become a senator, but the mandate was lost due to the death of the then Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.
In 2019, grapevine had it that Abiodun sought the Ogun East Senatorial ticket of the APC from his friend turned foe, then Governor Ibikunle Amosun, but he (Amosun) had a different person in mind. They fell apart and Abiodun raised the bar of his political ambition which he later won in the controversial 2019 poll.
Ahead of 2027, Abiodun is strongly oiling political machinery to fulfil his long – time Senatorial ambition, Weekend Trust gathered.
However, the ambition has pitched him against another old friend, former state governor and the occupant of the Ogun East Senate seat, Gbenga Daniel. The ambition has led to tension between him and Daniel, it was gathered.
Both Abiodun and Daniel have clashed in the media several times between 2023 and now. Abiodun, according to insiders, believes Daniel was one of those responsible for the problems he encountered during his re-election bid, which he won narrowly. Abiodun lost the election in Ogun East, where Daniel had won overwhelmingly just a few weeks apart from the National Assembly and the governorship election in 2023.
In September 2023, Abiodun allegedly ‘took his pound of flesh’ when his government pulled down a mall in Ijebu Ode owned by Daniel’s wife. The development led to a barrage of attacks between the two parties.
The duo also clashed recently after President Bola Tinubu’s government announced the adoption of the state – owned University of Education. Keen watchers said beneath the bickery is the ticket for the Ogun East Senate in 2027.
Whether or not Abiodun will successfully deny Daniel a return ticket to the Senate come 2027 remains a hard nut to crack. In the meantime, the governor has not made his intention known on the Senate ambition.
Bauchi South and Bala Mohammed
Prior to the recent internal crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), there were indications that Governor Bala Mohammed had the plan of contesting for president under the party’s platform.
Sources close to the governor hinted Weekend Trust, that Muhammad has opted for a second option to contest the Senate seat due to the crisis in the PDP.
A source alleged that the governor is positioning his older son, Alhaji Shamsuddeen Bala Mohammed for the PDP senate ticket for Bauchi South senatorial district after which he, (Bala) will replace him.
“Governor Bala was trying to borrow a leaf from Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. It would be recalled that in 2011, Kwankwaso secured Senate ticket through the incumbent governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf. The governor secured the ticket but later, he was replaced with Kwankwaso.
However, the source added that, “Not withstanding, one cannot tell whether he (Shamsuddeen) can get the ticket if the ongoing internal crisis persist in the party.”
It is also not certain if the governor can succeed in stopping the incumbent senator representing Bauchi South Senatorial District, Senator Shehu Buba, from retaining his seat.
Political observers opine that even if the governor succeeds in blocking Sen. Buba’s chance from getting the PDP ticket, the Senator can still challenge him if he decamps to another party and gets its ticket.
Seyi Makinde – Oyo South
There have been reports of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde nursing presidential ambition come 2027, and he hasn’t denied it.
His presidential campaign posters have been seen in some states.
In May, the posters, boldly displaying Makinde’s picture with the inscription, “To Move Nigeria Forward 2027”, were seen in high-traffic areas across Kano, including the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) roundabout, Wapa area (former site of Triumph Newspaper), Dangi Flyover, and the ever-busy Kwari Market.
Also in June, Makinde’s presidential posters were seen in Dutse, Jigawa’s capital, with inscriptions like “To Move Nigeria Forward 2027: His Excellency Engineer Oluwaseyi Abiodun Makinde for President” and “2027: Seyi Makinde Is the Answer.”
Makinde has neither confirmed nor denied nursing such ambition, but he said he would speak for himself at the right time.
“We didn’t host the PDP retreat because somebody has a presidential ambition. No comment, nothing. But all I can say to you is, I’m old enough if I want to do something, I will come out and say, this is what I want to do,” Makinde told reporters.
“So, no speculation, nobody can push my agenda. I will push my agenda when the time comes,” he told newsmen in October last year.
However, there are strong indications that the rumoured presidential ambition is a political decoy for his Senatorial ambition in 2027, more so as the PDP is in crisis.
Although, he has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s government on many occasions, Makinde was one of those who worked for his emergence in 2027, canvassing for a president of southern origin.
Many analysts believe he has his eyes more on the senatorial seat than presidential ambition which they termed “unrealistic.”
Weekend Trust reports that the 57-year-old had his eyes on the Senate seat even before he became governor.
In 2007, Makinde contested for the Oyo South Senatorial seat under the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but lost to the People’s Democratic Party candidate- Kamoru Adedibu.
Makinde remained undeterred by his first failed attempt and in 2011; under the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, he aspired for the Oyo South senatorial seat but lost the primary to Adedibu.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu – Lagos
While it has become a political tradition for the second term governors to “retire” to the Senate, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s case maybe different.
Apart from Tinubu, who was a senator before he became Lagos State governor in 1999 and got re-elected in 2003, no other former governor from the state has emerged senator under the current dispensation.
Babatunde Fashola (2007 – 2011) and Akinwunmi Ambode (2011-2019) didn’t get the opportunity to run for Senate.
And the reason is not far fetched. The political arrangement in Lagos under Tinubu, as the leader hasn’t favoured any of the past governors in that regard and Sanwo-Olu’s case may not be an exception.
In June, Tinubu openly humiliated Sanwo-Olu by snubbing him at a public event, a development said to have signalled a fallout between the two.
But the situation was quickly addressed when Sanwo-Olu, in company of members of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision making body in Lagos APC, met with the president at his residence in Ikoyi Lagos.
At a peace meeting held a few days after, Tinubu reportedly said he had forgiven Sanwo-Olu.
“It’s all over now. All is forgiven,” Tinubu reportedly said at the closed door meeting. It is left to be seen if the governor would toe a different path from his predecessors and run for the Senate.
Diri: Off cycle elections as first hurdle
Baring any last-minute changes, Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri’s body language shows that he is strategising to return to his former seat at the National Assembly, after his tenure as governor on February 14, 2028.
Diri, who was a Senator representing Bayelsa central senatorial district until the Supreme Court declared him winner of the 2020 governorship election in the state, is planning to complete his tenure at the Senate. A close source to the governor told Weekend Trust.
Diri had won the 2019 National Assembly election to represent his senatorial district, but he was at the Senate for barely nine months before he was sworn in as the governor.
A source from the governor’s camp in his Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA, told our correspondent that as part of the plans to succeed, the governor has earmarked two House of Representatives members from his senatorial zones as the possible nominees for the senatorial race in 2027.
Speculations has it that the governor has already pencilled down the member representing Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma federal constituency, Obuku Oforji and member representing Southern Ijaw federal constituency, Rodney Ambaiowei, as senators during the 2027 polls.
The grand plan, allegedly, is to withdraw any of them that succeeds to be a running mate to the governorship candidate of his party in the 2027 off-cycle governorship election in the state, so that after the swearing in, the Bayelsa central senatorial district seat will be vacant, thereby paving way for him.
Weekend Trust recalls that Diri’s predecessor in office, Senator Seriake Dickson also used that same strategy to contest election into the Senate after his tenure in office.
An official in the state’s leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) confided in our correspondent that Governor Diri is comfortable with Oforgi going for Senate during the general election, because the lawmaker is very popular in the politics of the state, and he has performed well as the local government chairman, house of assembly member and now as a member of the house of representatives.
Oforgi is also popular among the youths, because himself as a youth, attract thousands of supporters.
Imo: Uzodinma Silence Over Senate Return
The incumbent Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, though silence about the senatorial ambition after his tenure as governor in 2028, but rumours are everywhere in the state that he may likely seek election into the Senate.
Uzodinma, who was a senator for Imo West between 2011 to 2019, was declared as the original winner of the 2019 governorship election in the state by the Supreme in 2020.
A source in Oweri who is following the political trend in the state, told Daily Trust that Governor Uzodinma may likely front a House of Representatives member from the zone for the 2027 senatorial election, and later withdraw him during the off-cycle governorship election to be a running mate to the candidate.
He said the chairman of the progressives governors controls the political structures in the state, and will likely scheme to succeed.
He however stated that the newly formed coalition party, the ADC may post a serious thread to the governor, as the former governor, Emeka Ihedioha is also firmly rooted in the politics of the state.
From Bassey Willie, Yenagoa; Haruna Gimba Yaya, Gombe; Peter Moses,Lagos; Umar Muhammed, Lafia
