For some Senators, last Saturday’s election signalled an end
to their membership of the National Assembly. Assistant Editor Sina Fadare
takes a look at those who will be missing when the Red Chamber is inaugurated
for legislative business in June.
With the results of the last Saturday’s National Assembly
election, some incumbent senators will not be returning to the Upper
Legislative Chamber when the lawmakers resume for duty in June. Those who will
be missing include:
- Smart Adeyemi
Smart Adeyemi is one of the chieftains of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State. Before his foray into partisan politics,
he was the President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) between 1999-
2006. He worked with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), where he made his
mark as a seasoned reporter and a unionist.
He was elected into the National Assembly in 2003 to
represent the Kogi West Senatorial District. Adeyemi was returned to the Senate
in 2007 and 2011. The three-time senator, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee
on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was defeated in the last Saturday’s
election by a former House of Representatives member Dino Melaye of the All
Progressives Congress (APC). With this defeat, the Ijumu-born politician will
bow out of the Senate at the expiration of the Seventh National Assembly to
face his hospitality business.
- Chris Ngige
Chris Nwabueze Ngige, a medical-doctor turned politician,
began his political sojourn when he joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He served as the party’s National Secretary between 2000 and 2003 and was a
member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP between 2001 and
2003. He contested the governorship seat of Anambra under the auspices of the
ruling party and won in 2003 before he was removed in 2006 through a judicial
process.
Dr. Ngige was ejected from the Anambra State Government
House by a judicial pronouncement, which arose from an election petition
instituted by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Peter Obi.
Against this backdrop, Ngige had a running battle with the PDP which later
accused him of anti-party activities. He eventually defected to the then Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which later teamed up with two other parties and a faction
of another to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In April 2011, Ngige contested the Anambra Central
Senatorial seat on the platform of the ACN and defeated a former Minister of
Information & Communications, the late Prof Dora Akunyili of APGA. He
polled 69,765 votes against the late Prof. Akunyili’s 69,292.
Ngige, who is the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Power,
Science and Technology, will be taking a bow from the National Assembly on the
eve of May 29. He was defeated by a House of Representatives member, Mrs. Uche
Ekwunife of the PDP.
- Femi Lanlehin
Ibadan, Oyo State-born Femi Lanlehin trained as lawyer. As a
legal practitioner, he had made an impact in civil litigation, commercial and
land law before venturing into partisan politics. He served as a Commissioner
for Special Duties and a Special Adviser to the former governor of Lagos State,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He was elected on
the APC ticket in 2011 to represent the Oyo South Senatorial District.
Lanlehin is the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on National
Planning, Economic & Poverty Alleviation.
He later dumped the APC for the Accord Party. But his ambition to return
to the Senate on the platform of his new party was truncated at the weekend when
he was defeated by the APC candidate, Soji Akanbi. His tenure ends in May.
- Hosea Agboola
Ayoola Hosea Agboola has been a grassroots politician since
1999. He was the Supervisory Councilor, Works, Isehin Local Government Area of
Oke Ogun, Oyo State. He capped his political feat when he was appointed the
Commissioner for Local Government in the Pacesetter State and he served between
2003 and 2010.
The estate management expert, politician was a Senator on
the platform of the PDP in 2015. He is the Vice Chairman of the House Committee
on Drugs Narcotics & Financial Crime. With the electoral loss he suffered
at the weekend, Agboola will not be returning to the Legislative Chamber at the
expiration of the Seventh National Assembly.
He lost his seat to his APC challenger Fatai Buhari, who was a Commissioner
in the administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
- Olubunmi Adetumbi
Olubunmi Adetunmbi, an Agricultural Economist, who veered
into politics in his Ifaki Ekiti country home contested and won the Ekiti North
Senatorial District seat of Ekiti State in 2011. His election into the Senate
was his first public service. He is the Vice Chairman of the Committee on
Interior Affairs. With his defeat by a former House of Representatives member,
Duro Faseyi of the PDP, Senator Adetunmbi will not be returning to the Senate
after serving out his term on May 28.
- Ahmed Makarfi
Trained as an accountant, Ahmed Markafi began his career
with the Universal Bank where he rose to the position of Assistant General
Manager. He was introduced to the public service as the Commissioner of Finance
and Economic Planning, Kaduna State in 1994. He later became the governor of
the state for two consecutive terms between 1999 and 2007.
He is representing the Kaduna North Senatorial District at
the National Assembly for the second term after his election in 2007. He has
served as a member of various Senate Committees including; Agriculture &
Rural Development, Appropriation, Aviation, Banking, Insurance and Other
Financial Institution & the Chairman Senate Committee on Finance.
He was trounced at the poll by his APC challenger on
Saturday.
- Abdul Ahmed Ningi
Abdul Ahmed Ningi could be given the sobriquet ‘veteran
Lawmaker’ after spending about 16 years in the National Assembly. From 1999 to
2011, he was in the House of Representatives. He was the Majority Leader of the
Lower Legislative Chamber between 2003 and 2007.
Ningi, a graduate of Sociology had his first public service
experience when he was employed as a social welfare officer in the state civil
service. He has a brief stint with the First Bank in 1986 before he ventured
into private business as the Chairman/ Chief Executive of NAJ Resources Limited.
His activities in politics has been rich and robust. He has
served on various committees of the
House of Representatives during his 12-year sojourn in the Green Chamber. The
articulate and veteran lawmaker is the Chairman, Senate Committee on National
Population & Identity Card.
Ningi will in May bow out of the National Assembly after 16
unbroken years following his defeat in the last Saturday’s election.
- Anthony Adeniyi
Anthony Olumuyiwa
Adeniyi is a member of the APC, a platform that took him to the National
Assembly to represent the Ekiti South Senatorial District. The legal
practitioner ventured into partisan
politics as a unionist and human right activist. He was the former Chairman of
the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akure branch between 1990 and 1992.
The Ikere-Ekiti born lawyer was a former Chairman, Omega
Bank. He is the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market.
The Tsunami of the PDP that swept through Ekiti State last
Saturday, denied Adeniyi the opportunity to return to the National Assembly on
the platform of the APC.
- Ayo Adeseun
He was elected into the House of Representatives on the
platform of the PDP in 2003 and was reelected in 2007 to represent the Ogbomoso
Federal Constituency. In 2011, Adeseun dumped the PDP for the ACN and was
elected into the Senate to represent the Oyo North Senatorial Zone. He later
defected to his former political platform – the PDP but his attempt to return
to the National Assembly was scuttled on Saturday, when he was defeated by Fatai Buhari of the APC. Adeseun will be
returning from the National Assembly after 12 years as a lawmaker.
- Adegbenga Kaka
Adegbenga Kaka was deputy
to former Governor Olusegun Osoba between 1999 and 2003 under the AD/ACN
platfom. His shot at the Ogun State governorship under the Democratic Peoples
Alliance (DPA) in 2007 failed. He returned to the progressives fold in 2011 and
was elected to represent the Ogun East Senatorial District at the Senate. Kaka, followed Chief Osoba out
of the APC to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP), under which he sought
reelection into the Senate but he was defeated by the PDP candidate, Prince
Buruji Kashamu. Kaka is expected back from the Senate after the expiration of
his tenure in May.
Credit
No comments