Meet Senators who voted against electronic transmission of election results

Against the general clamour for a lasting solution to the myriad of electoral problems facing the country, 50 members of the All Progressives Congress in the Senate and two of their counterparts in the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, on Thursday voted against electronic transmission of election results in the forthcoming general elections. Notwithstanding the constitutionally guaranteed independence of the electoral body, the senators insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission should be compelled to seek clearance from the Nigerian Communications Commission, while the heavily politicised National Assembly would have to approve the verdict of the NCC, which is a department under the presidency. SUNDAY ABORISADE presents the senators who kicked against the desire of Nigerians to have results of future elections transmitted electronically

Kabiru Gaya (Kano Central)

The former governor of Kano State is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC which recommended the controversial Section 53 (3) in the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill 2021 which empowers INEC to transmit election results electronically. Ironically, Gaya voted against the recommendation of the panel he chaired.

Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central)

The lawmaker is the current Deputy President of the Senate. He was accused of allegedly leading some thugs to the Senate Chamber in the 8th National Assembly to steal the Maze, which is the symbol of democracy in Nigeria.

Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta North)

The Senator recently defected from the PDP to join the APC in what many people believed was to seek refuge in the ruling party and escape justice in the multibillion-naira corruption allegations hanging on his neck at the Niger Delta Development Commission. Nwaoboshi is incidentally the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, which is saddled with the responsibility of carrying out oversight functions on the intervention agency.

Ali Ndume (Borno South)

The senator, who was the Leader of the Senate in the 8th National Assembly, contested the Senate Presidency with the incumbent, Ahmad Lawan, in 2019 but lost. He is representing Borno South District. Despite his state being ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency and constituents scattered in several internally displaced camps across the country, the state has been producing huge numbers of votes during elections.

Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central)

The Senator was a students’ union activist before he joined politics several years ago after his graduation. He served as a commissioner in Lagos State and was a House of Representatives member before joining the Senate. He is said to be eyeing the governorship seat in Ekiti State after the tenure of Governor Kayode Fayemi ends.

Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East)

Gobir is said to hold a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Detroit in the United States, and a doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering and Energy from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi State. He is a chartered engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical Engineers (UK) and of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.

Mohammed Goje (Gombe Central)

Goje is a former governor of Gombe State and was the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in the 8th National Assembly. He had the intention of contesting the Senate presidency in 2019 until he was allegedly prevailed upon to drop his ambition by the cabal in the Presidential Villa for some obvious reasons.

Yusuf Yusuf (Taraba Central)

Yusuf is a member of the  Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the APC. He was declared the winner of the seat in the Senate on September 29, 2015 after a tribunal sacked the PDP candidate, Bashir Marafa, who was earlier declared the winner of the seat.

Ibrahim Bomai (Yobe South)

The senator served as Deputy Director (Accounts) Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation on posting to the Federal Capital Territory Administration between 2005 and 2008.

Within the period, he served as the Auditor-General for the FCT area councils under the FCTA. Bomai was promoted to the position of Director of Treasury of the FCTA in 2008, a pivotal post he held until he retired from the civil service in August 2016.

Sahabi Ya’u (Zamfara North)

Senator Sahabi Ya’u defected from the PDP to APC on July 21, 2021. He said his decision was necessitated by the endemic crisis that engulfed the Zamfara State chapter of the PDP which led the national body to dissolve the state executive of the party.

Uba Sani (Kaduna Central)

The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, appointed Sani as the Special Assistant (Political and Intergovernmental Affairs) in 2015. However, in 2019, Sani contested the Kaduna Central senatorial seat and won to succeed Senator Shehu Sani, who occupied the seat in the 8th Senate.

Elisha Abbo (Adamawa North)

Not much was known about this youngest member of the 9th Senate until a viral video about his alleged assault of a nursing mother at a sex toyshop in Abuja surfaced in 2019. The senator who was elected on the platform of the PDP recently defected to the APC.

 Ahmad Kaita (Katsina North)

SaharaReporters alleged recently that Kaita, who was invited by his friend, Alhaji Mannir Talba, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to a wedding ceremony, met with disgrace as irate youths allegedly humiliated him. The online medium reported that the angry youths accused Kaita of inadequate representation of his constituents.

Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central)

Aliero, a former governor of Kebbi State, was appointed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in December 2008. He left office in March 2010 when the then acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet.

Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North)

Abdullahi is the current Leader of the Senate. He tried all means, including using the name of God to beg the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, to drop his insistence on using headcount to determine senators who were in support of electronic result transmission and those who were against it.

Yakubu Oseni (Kogi Central)

The senator was appointed by Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello as the Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service from 2016 to 2018 before he resigned to contest the Senate seat in 2019.

Jibrin Isah (Kogi East)

Isah contested the governorship ticket of the PDP in 2011 but  lost to Idris Wada. He also contested against Wada again in 2015 but lost. He invariably got elected as a Senator in 2019 after a supplementary election.

Smart Adeyemi (Kogi West)

He was a former national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. He was elected senator on the platform of the PDP twice from 2007 to 2015. He lost to Senator Dino Melaye in 2015 and defected to the APC in 2019 to contest against Melaye, who had also defected to the PDP. Adeyemi lost the election but approached the tribunal. The court declared a supplementary poll which facilitated his return to the Senate.

Ibrahim Oloriegbe (Kwara Central)

The medical doctor, alias ‘giant killer,’ was announced the winner of the Kwara Central Senatorial District in 2019 which was occupied then by the erstwhile Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Oloriegbe played a major role in the now controversial and crisis-ridden ‘O to ge’ struggle in 2019 aimed at eliminating political power wielded by the dynasty of the late Senator Olusola Saraki in Kwara State.

Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central)

Oluremi is the wife of the National Leader of the APC and former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is unarguably the godfather of Lagos politics.

Solomon Adeola (Lagos West)

Popularly known as Yayi or Omo West, the Awori-Yewa senator is originally from Ogun State but has been representing Lagos West District since 2015 after his sojourn at the House of Representatives.

Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa North)

The former governor of Nasarawa State is said to be eyeing the National Chairmanship of the APC and is believed to have been mobilising massive support to realise his ambition.

 Godiya Akwashiki (Nasarawa South)

The Senator was the Deputy Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly until 2019 when he got elected as a senator. A viral video of him shortly before the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly drew public attention to him. He was made the spokesperson of the Senate briefly before his replacement with Senator Ajibola Basiru.

Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West)

The two-time governor of Nasarawa State has been in the Senate after his sojourn at the Government House. He has also been heading the Agriculture Committee of the red chamber. He is reportedly a big-time farmer in Nasarawa State.

Mohammed Musa (Niger East)

Musa sponsored the controversial social media bill and is said to be a major contractor for INEC. He reportedly supplied most electronic devices being used by the agency, including the card readers. His decision to vote against the electronic transmission of election results actually took many people by surprise. He is currently seeking to become the national chairman of the APC.

Aliyu Abdullahi (Niger North)

Abdullahi retired as a federal civil servant and joined active politics. He was the spokesperson for the 8th Senate. He became the Deputy Whip of the 9th Senate as a compensation for the role he played in the emergence of Senator Ahmad Lawan as Senate President. He sponsored the controversial hate speech bill which is still pending before the chamber.

Mohammed Enagi (Niger South)

Not much was known about the Quantity Surveyor who retired as a Director at the Central Bank of Nigeria before he joined active politics. He is not known for controversial issues.

Nora Dadu’ut (Plateau South)

Dadu’ut, a Professor of French, resigned as the Head of the Department of French at the University of Jos, Plateau State, and joined active politics. She joined the Senate in 2020 on the APC platform after she won a bye-election.

Francis Alimikhena (Edo North)

Alimikhena retired from the Nigerian Army as a Major in 2000 and joined active politics. He contested the National Assembly election in 2015 after he defected from the PDP to the APC and won. He became a principal officer in the 8th Senate and he is now the Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs and Excise.

Abubakar Kyari (Borno North)

Prior to becoming a Senator, Kyari was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. From 2003 to 2005, he was a commissioner in Borno State. He was also a commissioner between 2007 and 2011.

Ajibola Basiru (Osun Central)

The doctoral degree holder in Property Law was the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Osun State for eight years before becoming a senator. He is the current spokesperson for the Senate.

Robert Boroffice (Ondo North)

The Professor of Zoology was appointed the Coordinating Director for Science in the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure in 1992. He worked on Biotechnology, Information and Communications Technology, and Space Science and Technology. This led to the establishment of the National Biotechnology Development Agency, National Information Technology Development Agency, and the National Space Research and Development Agency.

In 1999, Boroffice was made the director-general of the space agency, a post he held for 10 years before joining politics and elected senator in 2015.

Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North)

A two-time governor of Abia State, Kalu got elected to the Senate in 2019 and was made the Senate Chief Whip. He is currently having a running battle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Adelere Oriolowo (Osun West)

The senator retired as a civil servant and served during the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration in Osun State. He was elected senator in 2019 and made the Chairman, Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance.

Aishatu Ahmed (Adamawa Central)

Born in 1971, the senator, also known as Binani, went to the  United Kingdom for her university education where she obtained a Higher National Diploma in Electrical Engineering at the University of Southampton. She was a member of the House of Representatives in the 7th National Assembly.

Biobarakama Degi-Eremienyo (Bayelsa East)

Degi-Eremienyo was elected senator in the 2019 general elections and in September of the same year, he was announced as David Lyon’s running mate in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa State.

On November 12, 2019, the federal high court in Abuja disqualified him as Lyon’s running mate for the Bayelsa State governorship election on the basis of falsification of academic documents.

On November 16, 2019, he was declared the deputy governor-elect of Bayelsa State by INEC, and on February 13, 2020, a day prior to his swearing-in as deputy governor, his election was invalidated by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on grounds that he submitted a fake certificate to INEC.

Oyelola Ashiru (Kwara South)

Ashiru and other politicians in the Kwara PDP defected to the APC in  2018 to campaign against the Saraki dynasty. He was a beneficiary of the ‘O to ge’ movement.

Bello Mandiya (Katsina South)

Mandiya, a former chief of staff to the Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, holds a degree in Mass Communication. He is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources. His committee will handle the controversial water resources bill whenever it is introduced to the 9th Senate.

Hezekiah Dimka (Plateau Central)

He previously served as a board member, TETFUND North Central, in 2018. He is currently the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Drugs and Narcotics.

Frank Ibezim (Imo North)

The Supreme Court on Friday, April 17, 2021, set aside the disqualification of Ibezim as the authentic candidate of the December 5, 2020 Imo North senatorial election.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, delivering a unanimous judgment, held that the suit which led to Ibezim’s disqualification for allegedly supplying false information to secure nomination was statute-barred at the time it was instituted.

He was sworn in as a senator on April 27.

Kashim Shettima (Borno Central)

The former governor of Borno State for eight years has been maintaining a quiet life since he came into the Senate.

He contested the governorship election in 2011 which he won under the platform of the now-defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party and won re-election in 2015 under the APC. There was rampant insurgency throughout his eight-year tenure.

Sa’idu Alkali (Gombe North)

Alkali holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. He was commissioner of information in the administration of former governor Danjuma Goje.

Amos Bulus (Gombe South)

Many Nigerians were surprised that Bulus, an air commodore, who was made the Director of Information Technology at the Nigerian Air Force headquarters to ensure operational efficiency and effectiveness, before his retirement, could also vote against electronic transmission of election results.

Danladi Sankara (Jigawa North-East)

Sankara became a senator after many years of effort and has been maintaining a quiet life since he got to the red chamber.

Ibrahim Hadejia (Jigawa North-West)

Hadejia, before becoming a senator, served as the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in Jigawa State.

Suleiman Kwari (Kaduna North)

Kwari was elected senator in 2019. Before then, he was the Commissioner of Finance in Kaduna State and also a member of the House of Representatives representing Sabon Gari constituency.

Kabir Barkiya (Katsina Central)

One of Barkiya’s constituents, who identified himself as Bishir Subuwar, in an article published in Katsina Post online, wrote:

“Today, Katsina Central Senatorial District is at the mercy of homicidal bandits; women, old and young, are being raped. Farmers could no longer go to their deepest and most fertile farms for fear of being kidnapped or killed.

“Many peasants and petty traders who constitute over 99 percent of the constituency are now living in abject poverty as they lost all their valuables through payment of ransom.”

Jika Halliru (Bauchi Central)

Born in 1976, Halliru was elected as a member of the House of Representatives and served two terms from 2007 to 2015. He was elected a senator in the 2019 general elections.

Lawali Anka (Zamfara West)

Lawali became a senator by circumstances following the disqualification of elected members of the APC in Zamfara State in 2019. Little is known about the senator in the red chamber.

Lawal Gumau (Bauchi South)

Lawan is a two-time House of Representatives member before his election to the Senate.

 Stephen Odeh (PDP, Cross River North)

Odey became a senator with the active support of Governor Ben Ayade who recently defected from the PDP to the APC. Unlike Ayade, Odey has yet to defect allegedly because of his running battle with INEC, which had technically removed him from the Senate, having issued a fresh certificate of return to Jarigbe Jarigbe, a member of the House of Representatives.

Shuaibu Lau (PDP, Taraba North)

Lau became a senator through litigation on June 23, 2017, but got re-elected under the PDP on March 28, 2019. Contrary to the position of his party, he also joined the APC senators to shoot down the proposal for the electronic transmission of election results.  (Text excluding headline courtesy, Sunday PUNCH)