How governors amass, wield unending powers
Since the advent of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in 1999, the role and powers of state governors have undergone a significant transformation. In Nigeria’s federal system of government, governors occupy the second tier of government, but the enormous and overwhelming powers they wield make them have overbearing influence on who gets what, not only at the state level, which they statutorily control as governors, but also at the federal and local government levels. This piece critically analyses the powers amassed by governors and their implications for Nigeria’s democracy and good governance at the federal, state and local government levels. allowances and perks of office with little or no contribution to deepening quality legislation through sponsorships of important bills and motions.
Oftentimes, these former governors use their powers to retire vocal and vibrant senators from the parliament in their quests to occupy such seats, even when they do not have the required legislative acumen, desire and experience as those they are pushing out.
In the current 10th Senate, there are no fewer than 13 former governors occupying ground at the Red Chamber, with a number of them yet to sponsor a single bill after 10 months.
A recent report by this newspaper revealed that four of the 13 former governors in the Senate and 21 other senators have not sponsored any bills since June 13, 2023 when the 10th National Assembly was inaugurated.
The ex-governors in the Senate are Senate President Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Abubakar Bello (Niger), Orji Kalu (Abia), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Gbenga Daniel (Ogun), and Simon Lalong (Plateau).
The former governors who were yet to table any bill to their names, according to the report, include Senators Seriake Dickson (PDP-Bayelsa West), Adams Oshiomhole (APC-Edo North), Abdulaziz Yari (APCZamfara West) and Simon Lalong (APCPlateau South).
Besides their lacklustre performance at the Senate, it has been observed that governors also contribute to the dwindling fortunes of the federal parliament by supporting their loyalists, many of them incompetent, to find their way to the National Assembly at the detriment of more qualified candidates who could have performed better in the legislature. For instance, the high rate of legislative turnover experienced by the 10th National Assembly could be largely attributed to the roles played by governors in ensuring that many of the lawmakers in the 9th Assembly never get return tickets to the parliament, thus robbing the federal legislature of experienced lawmakers with institutional memories and legislative grasp.
What once began as a period of relative independence and vibrancy among federal lawmakers at the dawn of democracy in 1999 has evolved into an era where governors now wield considerable political influence, shaping not only the direction of their states but also impacting the quality of parliamentary representation at the federal level.
When Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999 after many years of military interregnum, the country produced a set of federal lawmakers who were generally considered vibrant, patriotic, independentminded and dynamic and were able to assert their legislative independence at both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The legislative independence and vibrancy of these crops of federal lawmakers, analysts believe, were due largely to the lesser political influence governors had on their selection and emergence as legislators.
These sets of federal lawmakers, along with their presiding officers, upheld the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances to a greater extent, ensuring that the executive arm of government was put on its toes to act within the ambit of constitutional provisions.
For asserting their legislative independence and scrutiny of the activities of the executive arm, these sets of federal lawmakers had frequent face-offs with the executive, especially with then President Olusegun Obasanjo.
At some point, members of the House of Representatives, led by the then Speaker, the late Umar Ghali Na’Abba, passed a resolution calling on Obasanjo to step down within two weeks or face impeachment over allegations of incompetence and corruption.
The parliament also had issues with Obasanjo over the non-implementation of federal budgets and his frequent trips abroad, among other issues. They also ensured they fought to a standstill, the infamous ‘third term agenda’ of former President Obasanjo.
However, observers believe the subsequent assemblies appeared to have lost such vibrancy and legislative independence in their quests to satisfy various political interests that brought them to power. For instance, the 9th Senate under Ahmad Lawan and even the current 10th Senate under Godswill Akpabio, are largely seen by pundits as a rubberstamp parliament doing the bidding of the executive rather than holding it to account.
Another factor that has also contributed to the dwindling fortunes and less vibrancy of the federal parliament, especially the Senate, is the growing trend of former governors pushing their ways into the Red Chamber as ‘retirement home.’
It has become the norm for many governors to bulldoze their way to the Senate at the end of their constitutionally allowed eight-year tenure in the state.
Many of these former governors only ‘retire’ to the parliament to enjoy
How governors decide presidents, hold them to ransom
In Nigeria’s political arena, governors wield significant influence over the selection of presidents. Through their control of state resources, patronage networks, and party machinery, governors often play kingmaker roles during presidential elections by deciding who gets the ticket during primaries.
As political leaders in their states, governors exert enormous influence on the delegates to the national conventions where presidential flag bearers are chosen.
Besides, governors are also very influential in determining whether a presidential candidate will win or lose an election in a state where they hold sway.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum
They leverage their support to negotiate for favourable policies, appointments and resource allocations from the federal government. This power dynamic has oftentimes led to a situation where governors hold presidents to ransom, demanding concessions or threatening to withdraw support if their demands were not met.
Full control of state assemblies
Governors often exercise extensive control over their state assemblies, turning them into rubberstamps for their agendas. Through various means, such as party affiliation, patronage and coercion, governors ensure that state lawmakers align with their interests and directives, especially with the financial autonomy of the state assembly still a mirage in many states.
It is common knowledge that those who secure tickets during primaries to contest state assembly elections are loyalists of the governors in power. These governors also use their resources and powers to ensure that their loyalists emerge victorious at the main elections in their quest to exert full control over state parliaments. Besides, governors decide or play critical roles in determining those who emerge as speakers, as well as other principal officers in the state legislature to consolidate their stranglehold and firm control over the parliament. This enables governors to push through legislation and budgets without meaningful opposition, thus consolidating their powers and reducing checks and balances within the state governance structure.
The high-level cases of corruption and abuse of power among governors, which mostly come to the fore after they leave office, have largely been attributed to the lack of independence of the state assemblies, which have failed to hold them to account.
Local government system in the bag
The local government system in Nigeria, theoretically designed as the third tier of government to bring governance closer to the people at the grassroots, often operates in a state of dysfunction. Governors exert considerable influence over local government affairs, including the appointment of local government chairpersons and the allocation of funds.
Even when they hold local government elections, governors use state electoral bodies to announce their loyalists as winners, which are often described as a mere charade. This control allows governors to manipulate the local government system for their political advantage, stifling grassroots democracy and hindering development initiatives at the local level.
The independence of the judiciary at the state level in Nigeria is frequently compromised, with governors exerting undue influence over judicial appointments and decisions. Governors often appoint judges who are sympathetic to their interests, turning the state judiciary into puppets that serve the governors’ agenda rather than upholding the rule of law.
Examples abound where governors used justices in the state high courts to procure all manner of injunctions and judgements for their political interests. Such scenarios played out in Rivers, Kogi and Kano states recently.
Lack of financial autonomy major contributory factor – Dr Hayatu
Speaking on the matter, a political scientist and senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Dr Aminu Hayatu, attributed the overbearing influence of governors to their enormous control of financial resources.
“This issue of power play in the structure of governance in Nigeria is not strange anymore; it has been there for decades. Even a small boy understands that financial autonomy plays a great role in the way power structure plays out, especially in our country, which has a lot of issues with corruption,” he said.
“This is threatening the interest of our democracy because the more people become disenchanted, it gives room for coup d’etat as we have witnessed in some African countries,” he added, saying handpicking of candidates is in defiance of democracy.
Also commenting, a senior lecturer in the Department of Public Administration, Bayero University, Kano, Dr Saidu Dukkawa, said governors wielded overwhelming powers because of the dysfunctional power division of the presidential system.
On the way out, Dr Dukkawa said, “Two things need to be done to reduce the overbearing powers of the governors. The first is to free the party structure from the clutches of a governor. This will enable internal democracy to be obtained, which will in turn guarantee free and fair elections.
“Secondly, there is a need for relevant legislation that will make it mandatory for governors to move responsibilities to respective ministries, departments and agencies, in addition to granting financial autonomy to local government authorities.”
The high cost of staple foods occasioned by rising inflation has put many Nigerians on edge as they find it difficult to purchase essential items to feed on,
reports.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the inflation rate is at 33.2 percent, underscoring the cost pressures which have pushed the prices of food higher to limit purchasing power.
In Benue State, citizens have continued to lament their sufferings occasioned by the rising cost of staple foods.
Maria Okpe, a resident in Makurdi, said the situation had become unbearable due to the inability of her family to feed properly.
“We can’t afford even pepper anymore. We can’t touch tomatoes too. We cannot buy fish or meat anymore.
“This situation is quite horrible to say the least. I would appreciate if the government reverts to the old fuel price so that the cost of living can be affordable.
Our correspondent who went Makurdi town reports that a cup of corn now sells for between N250 and N300 depending on the sizes while five tomatoes go for N1000.
Also, a custard bucket of garri currently sells between N3000 and N3400 as against its former price of between N400 and N600 this time last year.
Other food items including sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, mangoes and yam, among others, have become unaffordable according to some residents who spoke about their plights.
Chike Ekwe, a resident of Makurdi metropolis, said his family can no longer afford bread and tea for breakfast because of the high cost.
He said, “The bread I usually buy for my family at the cost of N500 before the fuel subsidy removal is now N1,500 or N1,800 depending on where it is bought.
“A custard bucket of Irish potatoes cost between N7,000 and N9,000 while just one mango cost between N250 and N350. The list is endless. So, I can tell you that our suffering seems endless.”
Sarah Adanu, another resident, simply described the suffering of many families like hers as, “going through hell.”
“The truth is that we can’t feed ourselves anymore. We’re deeply pained by the high cost of staple foods for the common man,” Adanu maintained.
Yams, others beyond reach in Abuja
In the same vein, the prices of major food items have significantly increased across several markets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
For instance, a set of tubers of yam that is usually sold for N5,000 or less is now between N10,000 and N15,000 in some areas.
Speaking with Daily Trust Saturday, a yam trader at Maitama Ultra-Modern Market Kubwa, Ikechukwu Ruth, attributed the increase in the price of yam to the high cost of transportation.
Ruth said the high cost of petrol and diesel has had a significant impact on the cost of transporting food items, which is reflected in the final selling price of tubers like yam and potatoes.
“When we consider the high cost of transporting yam from the yam market to where we sell them, we are left with no option than to increase the price. It’s annoying but what can we do? The government needs to bring down fuel price,” she said.
Amina, a mother of four, purchasing groceries at Dutse market, explained that she has had to double her budget for food since late last year at the expense of other things as well as savings.
“Before, we use to spend not more than N70,000 on food monthly, but the recent increase in the price of food means spending around N190,000 monthly, while income has remained the same, leaving the family with very little to allocate to other areas,” she said.
Janet Rimaneze, a retailer, said she’s witnessing a decline in customers’ patronage as they struggle to cope with the escalating prices of goods.
“This is affecting my sales and profit seriously, and I fear that if this persists, I may be forced to stop my business because as things stand, I am barely managing to cope and stay in business,” she said.
Mrs Utibe Marcus, a mother of two, expressed distress over the soaring prices of food items in the market.
Marcus said: “It is becoming increasingly difficult for me and my husband to properly feed our small family. The prices of basic food items like rice, beans, and cooking oil have gone up in the past few months. I am deeply worried about how we will cope if this trend continues.”
Residents groan as tomato scarcity hits Kano
Residents of Kano State have expressed serious concern over the current tomato scarcity in the state which has made the commodity very expensive and almost unaffordable by many people.
Daily Trust Saturday reliably gathered that the price of tomato has gone up beyond the reach of many households in the state. Sources at the Yan Kaba vegetable market, which is one of the biggest vegetable markets within the state metropolis, said there has been serious reduction in the supply of tomato which resulted in the hike in price.
It was on record that sometime in May 2024, tomato farmers raised an alarm on the resurfacing of Tuta Absoluta pest at the peak of tomato harvest. The stubborn pest resurfaced in almost all the Kano irrigation sites at Garun Malam, Kura, Bunkure, among others.
Tuta Absoluta is one of the most devastating pests affecting tomato crop in the world. Since its re-emergence in Nigeria in 2016, the pest has rendered many farmlands and tomato farmers hopeless, which has negatively affected tomato production in the state.
Speaking to Daily Trust Saturday on the pest’s resurfacing in some tomato producing areas in the state, chairman of Tomato Out Growers Association of Nigeria (TOGAN), Alhaji Sani Danladi Yadakwari, stated that despite raising an alarm, authorities concerned left the farmers at their own peril and the farmers thought they would be able to control the pest.
He said all indicators have shown that the pest overpowered the farmers this year as many had abandoned their farms because they knew nothing would come out of it.
The chairman had forecasted a serious drop in tomato production this year which he said may result in tomato scarcity.
The recent pest’s attack is said to have affected several farm lands across Kano River irrigation sites thereby affecting the year’s tomato supply. Another tomato farmer, Isa Haruna Dorawa, said if care is not taken, the state may experience serious scarcity of tomato. He added that the attack being experienced is very serious and alarming; while urging stakeholders to come to the aid of the farmers in order to save the situation.
A recent visit to Yan Kaba vegetable market revealed that a big basket of tomatoes which sold for N26, 000 in the last few weeks now sells between N95,000 and N108,000.
According to a tomato merchant, tomato supply from Kano State ceased very early due to Tuta Absoluta pest attack, and