The 2023 general elections in Nigeria is indeed a historic one.
One reason it is historic is that there was a third force.
The Labour Party (LP), which many top parties looked down on, was in the front line of this year’s political battle.
The LP became a major threat to parties like the APC and PDP.
However, despite the Labour Party’s efforts, the APC and PDP, who are the major political parties in Nigeria still retained numerous positions.
Governorship Election
Some APC and PDP governors would vacate their seats for successors to take over.
The governorship elections were held across 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states on Saturday, March 18, 2023.
The governorship and state assembly elections were held two weeks after the conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections.
For the just-concluded gubernatorial election, states involved are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta.
Others include: Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara.
However, of the 28 states, 11 have serving governors who sought reelection, while 17 are outgoing governors.
Below is the list of all outgoing PDP and APC governors and their successors.
Nyesom Wike- PDP
The Rivers State Governor has served his constitutional two-term limits of eight years, having been sworn in on May 29, 2015.
Wike led a group of five aggrieved PDP governors to rebel against their party’s national leadership and Atiku Abubakar.
The group tagged G5, or the Integrity Group, refused to support Atiku in the presidential election.
Their demand was to have the national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, sacked.
Wike’s Successor
The candidate of the PDP, Siminaliayi Fubara, was declared the winner of Saturday’s governorship election.
Fubara earned the right to succeed Wike after polling 302,614 votes to defeat his major rival, Tonye Cole of the APC, who scored 95,274 votes.
INEC Returning Officer for the Rivers State election, Professor Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, announced the result.
The candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Senator Magnus Abe and Labour Party’s Beatrice Itubo came a distant third and fourth with 46,981 and 22,224 votes, respectively.
Okezie Ikpeazu – PDP
Ikpeazu was elected as Governor of Abia State on 29 May 2015 and reelected in 2019 after serving his first four years.
The PDP chieftain has also enjoyed the privileged two terms in office and can only seek other positions.
Ikpeazu’s Successor: Inconclusive election.
Ben Ayade – APC
Ayade Benedict Bengiuoshuye was elected as Cross River state governor in 2015.
He got reelection also in 2019 and has now served two terms.
Ayade’s Successor:
The fierce contest in Cross River State ended in favour of the candidate of the APC, Bassey Otu.
The Returning Officer for Cross River State, Prof Teddy Adias, announced Otu as the state’s governorship election winner at INEC headquarters in Calabar.
According to him, the APC candidate polled 258,619 votes ahead of his opponent in the PDP, who scored 179,619.
Udom Emmanuel – PDP
Emmanuel won the Akwa Ibom State governorship seat on May 29, 2015.
He also won reelection in 2019 on the platform of the PDP.
Emmanuel’s Successor:
The candidate of PDP, Umo Eno, was declared the winner of the Akwa Ibom State governorship election.
Eno polled 354,348 to defeat his closest rivals — Akanimo Udofia of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
APC scored 129,602 votes and Labour Party (LP)’s Uduakobong, who got 4,746 votes.
Ifeanyi Okowa– PDP
Okowa was the Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP in the just concluded presidential elections.
Governor Okowa is on count down to vacating his seat as Delta State governor.
He served two terms and he was elected in 2015.
Okowa’s Successor
The incumbent Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Sheriff Oborevwori, polled 360,234 on the March 18 governorship election.
He defeated the Deputy Senate President and candidate of the APC, Ovie Omo-Agege.
Omo-Agege polled 240,229 to come second ahead of Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate, Deacon Ken Pela, who scored 48,047.
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi – PDP
Ugwuanyi was elected into office in Enugu State on May 29, 2015.
The 59-year-old politician got re-elected in 2019 and has served his two terms of constitutional rights also.
Ugwuanyi’s Successor: Inconclusive election.
Dave Umahi – APC
Umahi is one of the APC governors who have enjoyed eight years in power.
He had previously served as Deputy Governor of Ebonyi state from 2011 to 2015 before he contested the governorship seat in 2015 and won.
He is also on the countdown to vacating the office.
Umahi’s Successor:
The candidate of the APC, Francis Nwifuru, will succeed Umahi. He was declared the winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Ebonyi State.
Declaring the result at the INEC State Headquarters in Abakaliki, the State Returning Officer, Professor Charles Igwe, said Nwifuru polled 199,131 votes cast across the 13 local governments in the State.
Ifeanyi Odii of the PDP scored 80,191 votes to place second.
Aminu Masari – APC
Masari, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007, won the Katsina State governorship election in 2015.
The APC chieftain has since served his two terms in office.
Masari’s Successor:
The candidate of the APC, Dikko Umar Radda, was declared the winner of the Saturday election by the state’s INEC official.
Radda polled 859,892 votes, while the candidate of the PDP, Yakubu Lado, polled 486,620 votes.
Samuel Ortom – PDP
Governor Ortom is a member of the PDP G5 group that campaigned against Atiku during the presidential election.
Ortom was elected as Governor of Benue State in 2015, got reelected in 2019, and has served his two terms of eight years by the constitution.
The 61-year-old politician contested the Benue North West senatorial election during the February 25th election and lost to his former aide, Titus Zam of the APC.
Ortom’s Successor as Benue Governor:
Candidate of the APC, Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia, emerged winner of the Benue State governorship election.
Alia scored the highest votes to beat his closest rival in the PDP, Engr. Titus Uba, with a margin of 251,020 votes.
According to the Returning Officer for Governorship Election in Benue, Prof. Adamu Farouk Kuta, Alia polled 473,933 to lead Uba, who had 223,913. At the same time, Labour Party’s Heman Hembe trailed behind them with 41,881 votes.
Nasir El-Rufai – APC
El-Rufai is one of the top chieftains of the ruling APC.
He became Governor of Kaduna State in 2015.
El-Rufai won reelection in 2019 and has also completed his two terms in office and is expected to vacate office in a few weeks for his successor.
El-Rufai’s Successor in Kaduna:
The keenly contested election in Kaduna ended in favour of the APC’s candidate, Senator Uba Sani.
Sani was declared the Kaduna State governorship election winner after scoring the highest votes to defeat his PDP counterpart, Isa Ashiru, and other candidates.
INEC announced that Sani polled 730,002 votes to defeat Ashiru, who polled 719,196 votes.
Aminu Tambuwal – PDP
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has also served his two terms in office and is one of the outgoing governors.
Tambuwal’s Successor:
There was a power shift in Sokoto State, as APC swept the governorship election in the state.
INEC, on Monday, March 20, declared Ahmed Aliyu of the APC the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Sokoto State.
Aliyu won with a total of 453,661 votes to defeat his closest rival, Saidu Umar of the PDP, who polled a total vote of 404,632.
Abubakar Badaru – APC
Mohammed Badaru Abubakar emerged as the 4th democratically elected Governor of Jigawa State in 2015.
He contested again and won reelection on the platform of the APC in 2019, completing his two terms in the next few weeks.
Badaru’s Successor in Jigawa:
Based on INEC’s declaration, APC maintained leadership in Jigawa State, as its candidate, Namadi, won Saturday’s gubernatorial election with 618,449 votes to defeat his PDP rival, Mustapha Sule Lamido, who scored 368,726 votes.
Abdullahi Ganduje – APC
Ganduje has come to the final weeks of his second tenure as Governor of Kano State.
He was sworn in on the APC platform on May 29, 2015.
Ganduje’s Successor as Kano Governor:
The ruling party in Kano State, APC lost to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Saturday’s governorship contest.
After a fierce battle of votes between major contenders, INEC on Monday declared the candidate of the NNPP, Abba Kabir Yusuf, the winner of the Kano state governorship election.
it was like succour for Rabiu Kwankwaso, who was one of the persons that had interest in being Nigeria’s president. He lost to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Abubakar Sani Bello – APC
Niger State Governor, Bello, also known as Lolo, was elected into office in May 2015 and, again, won reelection on the platform of the APC in 2019.
Bello would be vacating office soon for new leadership in the state.
Governor Bello’s Successor:Â
Honourable Umar Bago will succeed Bello as Niger State’s next governor.
On Monday, INEC declared Bago as Niger Governor-Elect, having won with 82,419 votes margin ahead of his closest opponent, the PDP Candidate, Alhaji Isah Liman Kantigi.
Darius Ishaku – PDP
Governor Darius of Taraba State is among the outgoing state leaders who have completed their constitutional two terms as sitting governor.
Darius became governor of the state in 2015 and won reelection in 2019.
Governor Darius’s Successor:
PDP maintained its leadership in Taraba State after Kefas Agbu emerged as the state’s winner of the March 18 governorship election.
INEC Returning Officer for the state, Professor M.A. Abdulazeez, announced very early on Tuesday morning that Agbu scored 257,926 votes to edge out the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) candidate, Muhammad Yahaya, who polled 202,277.
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu – APC
Bagudu is a chieftain of the APC.
He has been the governor of Kebbi State since 2015.
He has served two terms in office.
Bagudu’s Successor:
On Monday, INEC declared the governorship election in Kebbi State inconclusive.
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Before the declaration, the PDP representative at the collation centre in Birnin Kebbi, Alhaji Sani Dododo, refused to sign the results.
He insists INEC must announce the total figure of overvoting and cancellations made in the 20 affected local government areas.
Simon Lalong – APC
The APC chieftain has also served his two terms and is on a countdown to vacating the office of the Governor for new leadership.
Lalong became governor in 2015 and respectively won reelection in 2019.
Lalong’s Successor In Plateau:
On Monday, INEC declared the candidate of the PDP, Caleb Mutfwang, as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Plateau State.
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The Presiding Officer of INEC, Musa Yusuf, declared that Mutfwang had the highest votes beating his APC counterpart, Nentawe Yilwatda.
PDP won ten local government areas in the state, while the APC won in seven LGAs.
