Buni, Zulum Top Race For Governors’ Forum Chairman

Two governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been rated as top contenders for the chair of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

They are Mai Mala Muni of Yobe State and his Borno State counterpart, Prof. Babagana Zulum.

Also, their party (APC) has produced the highest number of governors in the incoming administration, which qualifies it to produce the NGF chairman while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which comes next, will produce the deputy chairman of the forum.

Of the 28 governorship elections contested for in the March general elections, APC won in 16 states, PDP in 10, LP in one, while The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won in Kano state.

APC had seven governors re-elected. They are Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Muni (Yobe), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), and Babagana Zulum (Borno).

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The ruling party also secured wins for nine new candidates: Uba Sani (Kaduna), Bassey Otu (Cross River), Mohammed Bago (Niger), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Fr Hycinth Alia (Benue), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi) and Dr Nasir Idris (Kebbi).

Three PDP Governors – Ahmadu Fintiri (PDP), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi) – secured re-election, while seven others are first-term governors: Kefas Agbu (Taraba), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Peter Mbah (Enugu), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Siminialayi Fubara (Rivers) and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta).

PDP’s Dauda Lawal unseated Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, while Abba Kabir of the NNPP unseated the APC in Kano State.

In 36 states, APC has 20 governors to PDP’s 13. APGA, LP and NNPP has one governor apiece.

Traditionally, the chairman emerges from among governors of the majority party. First termers are ineligible to vie for the chairmanship of the Forum.

Also, the chairmanship rotates between the north and South. The South produced the last forum chairman, Kayode Fayemi from Ekiti; it is expected that the next chairman of the forum will come from the North. The Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal completed the tenure of Fayemi because his election was an off-season poll and he completed his tenure before May 29, 2023.

The former chairmen of the forum include Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar (2015-2019), Chibuike Amaechi (2011-2015),Bukola Saraki (2007-2011) Lucky Igbinedion (2006-2007), Victor Attah (2004-2006) and Abdullahi Adamu (1999-2004).

Sources disclosed that Buni and Zulum are tipped for the office because they enjoy strong support from both the party and the forum.