In Nigeria’s polity, it has been very difficult for deputy governors to succeed their principals. Our correspondents explore the issues.

In Kebbi State in particular, our correspondent interviewed two former deputy governors. One is Bello Dantani Argungu, who was deputy to ex-Governor Muhammed Adamu Aliero. According to Bello, sometimes the party’s zoning arrangement prevented some deputies from succeeding their principals.

“There are some states where the deputies succeeded their governors, but Kebbi has never recorded such a development,” he said.

Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, a former deputy to ex-Kebbi State Governor Saidu Nasamu Dakingari, disclosed that a deputy can only succeed his governor when there is a good understanding between them and other stakeholders of the party they belong to.

“It can happen or be possible only if there is a written agreement – due to betrayal between the governor and his deputy – for the succession to become real,” he said.

Governors Fear Deputies Will Avenge Suppression

According to the immediate past deputy governor of Niger State, Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, three main factors contribute to governors’ reluctance to hand over to their deputies.

He said the most important one is that “most deputy governors are always excluded financially. They don’t know much about the state’s finances; the governor will not want him to take over and find out the atrocities that could attract a probe.”

The former deputy governor also pointed to the influence of those around the governor, who believe the deputy governor may not get along with them after taking over, because they often contribute to the rift between the governor and the deputy.

Ketso also disclosed that governors often believe that, with the experience garnered by the deputies, they will be difficult to control when they become governors.

He asserted that governors are always afraid to support their deputies because many of the governors are extremely suppressive towards them.

In his experience, he said that as deputy governor, he was not aware of the state’s deeper finances, so he felt excluded in some areas.

Notwithstanding this, he said that during his tenure he contributed a lot to the development of the state, adding that the governors’ fears were unfounded.

My impeachment in 2014 politically-motivated – Onyebuchi

Former Enugu State deputy governor, Sunday Onyebuchi, described his 2014 impeachment as a politically motivated act to frustrate his political career.

Onyebuchi, who served under former Governor Sullivan Chime, said his impeachment was used to achieve a predetermined outcome.

He expressed belief that his impeachment in 2014 was orchestrated to end his chances of succeeding then-Governor Sullivan Chime when he was sick.

Since the creation of Enugu State, no deputy governor has succeeded any sitting governor – a development that close observers of Enugu politics attribute to the fear of the unknown.

In Imo State, the political trajectory presents a different scenario for almost all the former deputy governors of the state.

The voyage of the former deputy governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, represents a promise made and an unfulfilled promise. Ab initio, the former governor of the state, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, had given his word to his political son, Prince Madumere, that he would succeed him at the end of his tenure in 2019.

The gentleman’s agreement failed as the former governor, Okorocha, rooted for his son-in-law, Hon. Uche Nwosu, instead of handing over to Prince Madumere. The squabble resulted in Madumere boasting then that Okorocha had no capacity to stop his gubernatorial ambition.

Prince Madumere said a lack of trust on the part of governors could be responsible for their plight, adding that the time had come for the amendment of the Constitution to favour deputy governors.

According to Prince Madumere, deputy governors have no role in the affairs of their various states and function merely as spare tyres needed at the governor’s convenience.

Prince Madumere stressed that in 2019 he had concluded arrangements to pursue his governorship ambition to a logical conclusion in spite of opposition from then Governor Okorocha.

Madumere, however, revealed that the “greatest opposition” to his ambition was from people he nurtured politically. He said he was betrayed by people he brought into politics.

Okorocha had earlier announced that his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, would succeed him as governor in 2019.

Former Deputy Governors Who Succeeded Their Principals

Deputy governors who became governors have done so through luck or by accident.

The governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, became substantive governor after the death of his principal, Rotimi Akeredolu.

Also, a former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who served as deputy governor in Bayelsa State, became governor after the federal government-backed impeachment of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

Jonathan later became Nigeria’s Vice-President and eventually President, also following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

In Kaduna State, the late Patrick Yakowa also became governor on 20 May 2010, after Namadi Sambo was elevated to Vice-President by Jonathan.

The only woman who briefly served as governor in Nigeria, Virginia Etiaba of Anambra State, was sworn in following the impeachment of the governor, Peter Obi, in November 2006.

In Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala, who was deputy to Rashidi Ladoja, was sworn in following Ladoja’s impeachment in January 2006.

Although Ladoja was reinstated later that year, Alao-Akala later won the 2007 gubernatorial election as he was backed by the then-strongman of Ibadan politics, the late Lamidi Adedibu.

Also, in Adamawa State, Bala James Ngilari became governor in October 2014 after Murtala Nyako’s impeachment. He served until the end of the term in May 2015.

The death of former Governor Mamman Ali paved the way for his deputy, Ibrahim Gaidam, in Yobe State in January 2009. He later won consecutive elections in 2011 and 2015.

A former governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, succeeded Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as state governor in 2015, having served as his deputy twice, from 1999–2003 and 2011–2015. He was re-elected in 2019. He had the backing of the former governor in 2015, but both of them have since parted ways politically.

Also, in Jigawa State, Umar Namadi moved from deputy governor to become the governor of the state in 2023. He succeeded Badaru Abubakar after contesting on the APC platform.

The now Minister of Works, David Umahi, who was backed by the Ebonyi political elite, succeeded his boss, Martin Elechi, who did not support his deputy’s ambition.

The former deputy governor of Zamfara State, Mahmud Shinkafi, succeeded his principal, Yerima Sani, in 2007 after eight years as deputy governor. However, his defection to the PDP in 2008 cost him re-election in 2011.

Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State, who became governor in 2012 following Patrick Yakowa’s death, served only until 2015. (LEADERSHIP)