Evan or Evans? The Name Dispute That Cost Nigeria's First Senate President His Seat

If someone told you a Nigerian Senate President lost his job because of one letter in his name, your first reaction would probably be disbelief.

Yet, that is exactly the story many Nigerians remember from 1999.

Just a few months after Nigeria returned to democratic rule, the country's first Senate President of the Fourth Republic, Evan Enwerem, found himself caught in a controversy that refused to die. The question sounded simple enough: was his name Evan or Evans?

The Man at the Centre of the Story

Before becoming Senate President, Enwerem had already spent years in public service. He had chaired the Nigerian Airports Authority and later served as governor of Imo State during the short-lived Third Republic.

In 1999, he won election to represent Imo East Senatorial District in the Senate. Days later, he contested for the Senate presidency against Chuba Okadigbo, one of the most influential politicians in the chamber.

Many expected a tough contest. When the votes were counted on June 3, Enwerem emerged victorious, defeating Okadigbo by 66 votes to 43 to become the first Senate President of Nigeria's Fourth Republic.

But five months later, his tenure had come to an end.

So, Was It Evan or Evans?

The question entered public conversation after TELL magazine published a report pointing to inconsistencies in Enwerem's personal records.

According to the report, some documents identified him as Evan Enwerem, while others carried the name Evans Enwerem.

One extra letter may not sound like much but his critics saw it differently.

They argued that someone occupying one of the highest offices in the country should not have conflicting personal records. If official documents carried different versions of his name, they asked, how did that happen?

The controversy quickly spread beyond the magazine's pages and into the Senate.

"It Was Just a Typographical Error"

Enwerem insisted that there was no attempt to change his identity or mislead anyone. According to him, the difference between "Evan" and "Evans" was nothing more than a typographical error that had found its way into some of his records over the years.

The explanation failed to end the controversy.

Five Months Later, It Was Over

On November 18, 1999, senators voted to remove Enwerem as Senate President.

Although the dispute over his name wasn't the only issue surrounding his removal, it became the controversy most Nigerians associated with the end of his tenure.

Enwerem remained in the Senate as the representative of Imo East until 2003, but his brief stint as Senate President had already earned a place in Nigeria's political history for a reason few could have predicted.

A Story Nigerians Still Talk About

Nigeria has seen election disputes, impeachment battles and dramatic political defections. Few, however, have started with a question as unusual as this one.

More than 25 years later, the answer is no longer what draws people back to the story. It is the fact that a disagreement over a single letter became headline news and followed the country's highest-ranking lawmaker in the Senate until he lost the office.

It only took one letter.