As the off-season governorship election in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi States on November 11, it further increased the number of governors in Nigeria under the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
Recall that Governor Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress was re-elected for a second term in Imo state likewise Governor Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party in Bayelsa state.
Also, Alhaji Usman Ododo of the APC emerged winner in the Kogi state governorship election and he is to be sworn in in January 2024 after the tenure of Governor Yahaya Bello expires.
As the 2023 governorship election has been concluded, here is a full list of governors and their parties in Nigeria.
South East:
Alex Otti (Abia) Labour Party The 58-year-old Labour Party candidate won by a landslide in the March 16 gubernatorial election. Former Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc lost the governorship election in 2015 and 2019, Channels TV reported.
Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi): APC Nwifuru is a two-term speaker of the Ebonyi State House Of Assembly. The 48-year-old is from Oferekpe Agbaja in the Izzi LGA of the state.
Peter Mbah (Enugu) PDP The 51-year-old is the founder and CEO of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd. He is also a maritime lawyer and financial analyst. He hails from Owo in the Nkanu East LGA.
Hope Uzodimma (Imo) APC Two-term senator representing Imo West senatorial district between 2011 and 2019.
Charles Soludo (Anambra) APGA The 63-year-old is a banker and professor of economics at the University of Nigeria. Soludo is a former governor and chairman of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
South-South:
Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) PDP The 59-year-old founder of All Nations Christian Ministry International served as the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources.
Bassey Otu (Cross River) APC Former member of the House of Representatives representing the Calabar Municipal/Odukpan and Senator for Cross River South.
Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta): PDP
Former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly from 2017 to 2023. The 60-year-old represented Okpe State Constituency while in the legislative house.
Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers): PDP Fubara was the former accountant general of Rivers State. The governor hails from Opobo Town in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area.
Godwin Obaseki (Edo) PDP Obaseki was the Chairman of the Edo State Economic and Strategy Team under Adams Oshiomhole’s administration.
He served as an executive board member of several private companies including Afrinvest.
Douye Diri (Bayelsa) PDP The 64-year-old was the senator representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District from 2019 to 2020 in the 9th National Assembly.
South-West:
Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) APC The 57-year-old is the former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Property Development Corporation.
Dapo Abiodun (Ogun): APC The 62-year-old is the founder of First Power Limited and served as managing director of Heyden Petroleum. Abiodun is the former board chairman of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Seyi Makinde (Oyo) PDP The 55-year-old founded Makon Engineering and Technical Services (METS) as a 29-year-old in 1997. He lost the 2015 governorship election under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) APC The 67-year-old is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in 2008.
Abiodun Oyebanji (Ekiti) APC
The 56-year-old was the former Secretary to the Ekiti State Government and a former Chief of Staff.
Ademola Adeleke (Osun) PDP: The 63-year-old is a former senator representing the Osun-west senatorial district from 2017 to 2019 In the National Assembly, Abuja.
North-Central:
Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia (Benue) APC The 57-year-old Catholic priest was elected on March 18 under the ruling APC.
Umar Bago (Niger): APC The 49-year-old was a member of the House of Representatives in 2011. The graduate of the Federal University of Technology Minna has years of experience as a banker before venturing into politics.
Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau): PDP The current governor of Plateau state is a 58-year-old politician. Mutfwang is a former Chairman of Mangu Local Government Area.
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara): APC – Before his emergence in 2015, the 63-year-old lost governorship elections between 2007 and 2011 under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) APC
Co-founder of Sadiq Petroleum Nigeria Limited and later became the CEO of African Petroleum (AP) Plc in 2001 after his company acquired APC. He was made the substantive Group Managing Director (GMD) of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc before he emerged as governor in 2019.
Govt-elect Usman Ododo (Kogi) APC The trained accountant is the former Local Government Auditor General. Ododo will take over from incumbent Yahaya Bello, who is from the same ruling APC and senatorial district – Kogi Central.
North-West:
Umar Namadi (Jigawa): APC The Chartered Accountant is the immediate former deputy governor and the founder of Namadi, Umar & Co.
He was the pioneer Head of the Dangote Group Management Accounts Department.
Uba Sani (Kaduna): APC Former Kaduna Central senator and National Vice Chairman (North) of Campaign for Democracy. The 52-year-old took over from Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
Abba Yusuf (Kano): NNPP The 60-year-old is a former Commissioner of Works, Housing and Transport.
The civil engineer is the first NNPP governor in Nigeria.
Dikko Radda (Katsina) APC The 53-year-old is a former APC National Welfare Secretary, He also served as director-general of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) before taking over from Aminu Masari.
Nasir Idris (Kebbi) APC The 57-year-old was the national president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. Idris was also the deputy president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Ahmad Aliyu (Sokoto): APC Aliyu is a former deputy governor and commissioner in Sokoto state. The 53-year-old governor also served as chief accountant at the Local Government Service Commission and the Executive Secretary of the Police Trust Fund.
Dauda Lawal (Zamfara): PDP The 57-year-old is a former CBN governor Lamido Sanusi’s special adviser on Islamic banking. The experienced banker holds a PhD in business administration from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto North-East.
Kefas Agbu (Taraba): PDP 52-year-old is a retired army lieutenant colonel.
Agbu was a former chairman of the governing board of directors at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and a member of the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative (2016-2019).
Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa) PDP The 55-year-old served as an acting governor from July to October 2014 during the impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako. Before then, Fintiri was the Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly.
Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) PDP The 64-year-old was a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Senator representing Bauchi South in the National Assembly. Mohammed also served as the Principal Administration Officer in the Presidency from 1994 to 1995.
Babagana Zulum (Borno) APC The 53-year-old was a former Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement. Zulum is a professor and former acting Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Maiduguri.
Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe) APC The 61-year-old was the former Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development.
Inuwa served as managing director of A.Y.U Civil Engineering Company Ltd before venturing into politics in 1999.
Mai Mala Buni (Yobe) APC The 55-year-old is the first elected APC National Secretary. Buni also served as Caretaker Chairman of the party (2020-2022) after the sack of Adam Oshiomhole.
