Questions Rise As Former Governors Push For Legislative Seats

Already labelled as a retirement home for former state governors by the National Assembly especially the Senate, another nomenclature is now looming in the background – a strategic sanctuary for some high-profile suspects. No thanks to the number of ex-governors who troop there after their tour of duty as states helmsmen. Such optics, though not illegal, question the country’s moral quotient and hamper democracy in various ways, but also dent the NASS’ institutional image. As the colony of accused lawmakers questions the integrity of the country’s democratic institutions, so also the presence of prosecuted ex-governors in the Red Chambers creates a cycle of impunity, affects the quality of lawmaking and engenders the passage of self-preservative laws, ENO-ABASI SUNDAY writes.

With every election cycle, the National Assembly changes its character, composition and hue significantly. As this is going on, the situation and circumstances of the Nigerian people remain largely unchanged or simply plummet.

The population density of former state governors occupying seats in the Senate is steadily climbing, with the turnover of lawmakers soaring and institutional memory waning. Interestingly, many of these ex-governors are being investigated by anti-graft agencies for their alleged sleazy conduct while serving as state governors.

With the 11th Senate in the offing, the plumage of the Red Chambers is not about to change as some former governors accused of stealing trillions of naira from their people have already got their tickets ahead of the National Assembly election slated to hold on January 16, 2027.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was lauded by the Delta State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for interrogating the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa (then of the Peoples Democratic Party) for allegedly stealing N1.3 trillion. One year and six months later, the party did a remarkable volte-face by congratulating Okowa for winning their ticket as candidate for the Delta North Senatorial District.

After that arrest, the APC described the arrest of Okowa “as the right step in the right direction”, after the anti-graft agency accused him of diverting N1.3 trillion from the federation account between 2015 and 2023, allegedly as proceeds of the 13 per cent derivation fund.

The former PDP vice-presidential candidate defected to APC after losing immunity from prosecution at the end of his second term. The case has not only stalled, like that of some of his former colleagues, but he was further rewarded with a ticket that would enable him to contest a return to making “laws for the good governance of the country.”

Months after quitting office, Yahaya Adoza Bello, who was governor of Kogi State for eight years, effectively became a fugitive from justice, as the EFCC chased him over billions he allegedly stole during his tenure as governor between 2016 and 2024. These unfortunate spectacles meant nothing to his people and the APC which nominated him as its candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial District.

One of the two separate criminal charges against Bello is before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, where the EFCC filed a 19-count charge accusing Bello of laundering about N80.2 billion allegedly diverted from Kogi’s vault.

In a separate matter, the EFCC accused Bello, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu (his two co-defendants) of conspiracy and the alleged N110.4 billion fraud and criminal breach of trust.

If Kogi Central Senatorial District people prefer Bello over other contenders for the top job, he would be in the Red Chamber, facing a lingering prosecution, making laws for Nigeria as a member of the 11th Senate.

Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, a former governor of Kaduna State who is also on trial for mismanaging about N700 million in office, recently won the APC ticket for the Kaduna North Senatorial District.

Yero, who has been fighting an EFCC prosecution over the $115 million disbursed by a former minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, ahead of the 2015 presidential election, for over a decade. A UK court only recently cleared Diezani of corruption charges.

Yero’s case, one of Nigeria’s most high-profile unresolved election corruption cases, began with his arrest in May 2016; he was initially arraigned in May 2018 alongside a former Kaduna State PDP chairman, Nuhu Haruna Gaya; former Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Hamza Ishaq and former Minister of State for Power, Somo Wya before the Federal High Court in Kaduna.

From state houses to National Assembly whose interest?

Though not illegal, many have called unfair the practice of sitting governors using the power of incumbency to push aside other contestants at party primaries and muscle their way to grab senatorial tickets after four or eight years in office.

This practice has percolated since the return of democracy, enabling some discredited among them to march to the NASS seamlessly in a move that strikes at the heart of institutional integrity.

Given their poor records of performance, the trip from government houses to the Senate has not always been a joyful sojourn for some of them. Some are mangled by the popular fury in the primary, some get their just deserts in the election proper.

Some of those who were outrightly rejected by their people are former governors Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State and Darius Ishaku of Taraba State.

But this big seasonal political realignment of former governors has, in most cases, been for their own good, as most of them are passive or lukewarm and without landmark legislation that serves their constituents or rattles the executive. This is to avoid their case files being dusted by the executive-backed anti-graft bodies.

When the citizenry sees people in high office who allegedly stole hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ money rewriting the country’s rules, it breeds systemic cynicism that ultimately destroys tax compliance, affects voter turnout, and entrenches the belief that the laws they write are meant to punish the poor.

Clearly there can be no rigorous oversight by a burgeoning colony of accused lawmakers, some of whom may spend their mornings in courtrooms and their afternoons in plenary. This fundamentally changes the quality and intent of legislation.

A total of 17 ex-governors and serving state governors were elected into the Ninth Senate. This number was 15.6 percent of the 109-member Senate. Of the number, 11 are ex-governors while the remaining six are serving their respective second tenure.

By the last count, the 10th Senate hosts 13 former governors. They include Godswill Akpabio, Seriake Dickson and Adams Oshiomole (South-South); Adamu Aliero, Aminu Tambuwal, Aliyu Wammako and Abdulaziz Yari (North-West), while Sani Bello and Simon Lalong are from the North-Central.

Senators Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo and Danjuma Goje are from the North-East while the South-East has only Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Senator Gbenga Daniel is the only former governor from the South-West in the 10th Senate.

The list of senators in the 10th Senate, at a glance, revealed that many of them arrived there with charge sheets hanging around their necks. For instance, Adamu Aliero got there with a N10 billion theft allegation on his neck, the EFCC accused Tambuwal of N189 billion fraud, Dickson was being investigated for alleged diversion of N17.5 billion ecological funds and assets declaration breaches, while the EFCC in 2018 revealed that it received many petitions, which alleged the theft and laundering of N15 billion from the treasury of Sokoto State by former governor Wammako.

The EFCC had in 2022 arrested former governor Abdul’Aziz Yari over his alleged role in the N84bn fraud involving the then suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris . The EFCC had in 2019 charged the former governor with financial fraud of N84 billion. Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) helped his administration and the state recover N1.3 billion from former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo in 2023.

The Supreme Court declared the judgment null and void on the grounds that Justice Mohammed Idris, who delivered the judgment, had already been sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal at the material time and therefore could not act in his capacity as a judge of the High Court, following the conviction of ex-governor Kalu for fraud involving the sum of N7.56bn and his subsequent sentencing to 12 years imprisonment.

No fewer than 12 former governors also emerged as senatorial candidates in the primaries just as seven serving governors clinched senatorial tickets in the last senatorial primaries conducted by the ruling APC.
Some of the serving governors are Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun and Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State.

Okowa, Bello and Yero are not the only ex-governors with senatorial tickets in their pockets. There is also Senate President, Akpabio whose prosecution by the EFCC for allegedly mismanaging N108 billion belonging to Akwa Ibom State between 2007 and 2015 seems to have been “put on hold by the EFCC.” He held the APC ticket for Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.

Other ex-governors who have selected their senatorial tickets include Kalu (Abia); Oshiomhole (Edo); Wamakko (Sokoto); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Aliero (Kebbi), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano) and Sani Bello (Niger).

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‘Political parties rewarding public trust abusers, not committed to anti-graft war’
The events of the recent past have shown that the major political parties lack the commitment to wage a sustained war against corruption and work towards the enthronement of probity and accountability. There is more than enough evidence that about 10 per cent of the 109 Nigeria’s most senior lawmakers, some of them occupying leadership positions, are being prosecuted for varying shades of crime and criminality. Political parties appear not to do enough to sift the grains from the chaff.

This is evident from the way the parties still court and even hand over the parties’ senatorial tickets on a platter to former governors who are being prosecuted for allegedly robbing the people of their commonwealth, some of whom have been jailed.

Olanrewaju Suraju, the Chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), could not agree less. “Political parties in Nigeria are only a vehicle for the highest bidder to get into political offices. That is why nomination forms to political offices in these parties are priced beyond the reach of hard-working ordinary citizens. “The major parties are not committed to fight against corruption and even thrive on the proceeds of crimes to sustain their existence.”

A coalition in Niger State, incensed with the status quo, has petitioned the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark, and the party’s governorship screening committee to prevail on the Niger State ADC governorship aspirant to step down from the race over alleged N3 billion rice contract fraud.

The coalition said the opposition could not afford to field a candidate with what it called a “tainted public image” after the exit of Mallam Idris Usman Makanta, popularly known as “Shinkafan Nupe,” from the APC to the ADC.

Kammonke Abam, Director and Co-founder of EduTimes Africa, is upset that those who, by their actions and inactions, have hindered the country’s democracy through stealing public funds or eroding public trust, are repeatedly rewarded with higher political offices, including being saddled with the task of national lawmaking.

“Public trust is not in the dictionary of most Nigerian politicians, their concerns most times are their selfish interests. This is not only a serious encumbrance to Nigeria’s democracy but also totally flawed. It is unfortunate that Nigeria’s political system is not one that favors noble-minded persons nor does it reward technocratic transitions or policy expertise strongly. Politics in Nigeria recycles elites through available offices, at best, a cyclical system that is garbage in, garbage out.”

How prosecuted lawmakers blunt reputational damage, hamstring oversight capabilities
The third most active force in lawmaking is the institutional rules, after party affiliation and constituents’ demands, with the individual lawmakers’ personality traits acting as a critical internal sifter. Also, in analysing legislative behaviour through established frameworks such as the Big Five Personality Traits, viz. When personality traits such as Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN) are considered, several patterns emerge that explain how personality traits influence the way laws are written and passed.

This assumes that when a member of the legislature is being investigated by anti-graft agencies, which are controlled by the executive, the watchdog role of the lawmaker is dulled or neutralised. This is because compromised agencies cannot be rigorously audited, resulting in a kind of “quid pro quo” arrangement where oversight visits become tools for mutual blackmail and personal enrichment.

Furthermore, a legislative assembly plagued by heavily investigated members suffers innumerable operational wounds, including institutional hostage-taking, collateral damage beyond reputation, crippled oversight capabilities, destruction of civil morale and democratic legitimacy.

This might be the reason why India’s independence movement leader, Mahatma Gandhi, in his profound wisdom on law and justice had said, “An unjust law is itself a species of violence.”

One organisation that is particularly worried that the continued recycling of politically exposed persons with allegations of corruption weakens citizens’ confidence in democratic institutions and undermines anti-corruption efforts championed by the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

According to it, this trend contributes to legislative capture, where persons with questionable records occupy strategic oversight positions that can influence investigations, weaken accountability institutions and frustrate reforms aimed at strengthening transparency in public finance and governance.

While every Nigerian is entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the group said, political parties have a moral and democratic obligation to maintain higher ethical standards in the selection of candidates. The mere existence of credible charges of corruption should be enough in and of itself to require parties to undertake hard integrity assessments before awarding tickets for sensitive public offices.

It thus called on political parties to give priority to competence, integrity and public credibility over political patronage and elite recycling. “Nigerians deserve a legislature of individuals committed to national development, accountability and the rule of law, and not one increasingly seen as a retirement haven for politically exposed persons under the scrutiny of corruption, ” said Auwal Musa, the Executive Director of CISLAC.

Suraju who is also Chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC) stressed that the hibernation of ex-governors in the Senate tremendously undermines its oversight and lawmaking mandates.

“Former state governors are running to the Senate either to serve as their retirement home, stepping stone for ministerial appointment or even to angle for presidential slots. No real commitment to legislation. Some even go to the chamber to find cover from continued EFCC prosecution. A quick X-ray of ex-governors in the Senate, current or former, will reveal this disturbing trend. This has greatly undermined the Senate’s mandates of oversight and lawmaking.”

On the surface, Abam, who is also the Project Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Profiles & Biographies, said, “It wouldn’t have been a bad idea for former governors to seek other elective offices, including going to the Senate, if the idea behind it was to deploy their wealth of experience in managing their states to the betterment of the nation. But we know their reasons are not altruistic. Why do I say that? Most of them have one or another corruption case hanging around their necks. So that’s where it gets tricky and wrong. The current political culture of the country is mirrored in a ruling party that gives senatorial tickets to former governors being investigated for the theft of public funds.

Deploring the slow pace of criminal litigations in the country, which allows cases that should be dispatched with military alacrity to span years, the ex-aide of governors Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke said that compromised lawmakers and their backers were constantly spinning things to weaken or numb the effect of anti-graft agencies.

He said his recent talk with a retired jurist revealed that intrigues and the interest of the government played a major role in bringing down corruption cases across the board.
Anti-graft war: Section 308 abuse, delayed trials make a performance
THE prosecution of highly-placed Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), including presidents, vice president, governors and their deputies that span multiple administrations (without success) after they have spent four to eight years in office, enjoying immunity, is a worrisome trend that makes a mockery of the country’s anti-graft war.

This remains a huge problem to be tackled willy-nilly, but a lot of the feeding of this fad is due to the sloppy justice dispensation system that grinds slowly, and the constitutional provision that allows suspected looters to swagger about like vacationing millionaires for years, as every accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

According to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in its 2018 report, Letting the Big Fish Swim, “despite the fact that the main anti-corruption agencies secured more than 1, 500 non-high profile convictions between 2000 – 2017, they could only muster 10 high-profile convictions within the same period.”

The EFCC has repeatedly shrugged off allegations of favouritism and reiterated its determination to prosecute thieving governors and other Nigerians, but its record of prosecuting PEPs remains very poor. EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that the commission is investigating 18 governors for alleged financial malpractices. Though heartwarming, it is still viewed by Nigerians with a pinch of salt.

“The abuse of immunity provisions has had disastrous implications for Nigeria’s development as resources meant for healthcare, education, infrastructure, security and poverty alleviation are allegedly diverted without immediate legal consequences. The citizens continue to suffer the consequences of bad governance while accountability is postponed indefinitely,” the CISLAC boss explained.

CISLAC therefore calls for a national dialogue on the urgent need to review and reform Section 308 of the Constitution to stop its misuse. Immunity must not be total impunity from investigation or accountability. At the very least, the EFCC and ICPC and other anti-corruption agencies should be empowered to conduct thorough investigations and preserve evidence against serving public officials pending the expiration of their tenure… Political parties must take responsibility for promoting credible candidates with demonstrable integrity and competence rather than rewarding political influence and financial power.”

In his contribution, Suraju regretted that the constitutional immunity clause is being exploited by occupants of the office of governor in chipping in his view on whether immunity should translate into absolute protection from investigation and accountability.

Some of them, unfortunately, escaped or frustrated their trial by their assumption of offices as governors.

Immunity clause, ‘biggest’ enabler of corruption in governance
The immunity clause in the Nigerian Constitution is said to be the biggest and most fundamental cause of the massive stealing of public funds by mostly the state governors and other officials that enjoy immunity. It is unconditional and total for presidents, vice presidents, governors and deputy governors.

State governors are the greatest thieves of public funds as well as the greatest threats to sustainable development, economic prosperity, infrastructural development and human security,” alleged a former National Commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC), Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko.

“The reality is that the high level of corruption by governors in states is the single and biggest creator of mass and multidimensional poverty that is bedeviling over 130 million Nigerians, according to the 2018 statistical report of the National Bureau of Statistics…The inability of the National Assembly to provide oversight for the executive arm of government in the area of public procurement and execution of projects, effectively, creates room for corruption to thrive, even in the presidency and federal agencies. Poverty is running rampant, the cost of living crisis and high cost of fuel are raging ferociously, even when Nigeria is the 8th largest crude oil producer. “This is a big irony.”

Founder of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Onwubiko, questioned why the EFCC and ICPC are busy prosecuting opposition politicians like former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai and ex-Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, yet turning a blind eye to Yahaya Bello, Okowa and Akpabio who have all been indicted of alleged thefts of public fund are running for offices on the platform of the ruling party. So blame the EFCC and ICPC for mortgaging their independence and being tied to the apron strings of APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who are dictating to the anti-graft agencies who to catch and who not to catch, thereby making APC a refuge for indicted politically exposed individuals in Nigeria.”
The EFCC had in 2022 arrested the former governor Abdul’Aziz Yari over his alleged role in the N84bn fraud involving the then suspended Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris. The EFCC in 2019 charged the former governor with N84 billion financial fraud. Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, in 2023, revealed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) assisted his administration and the state to recover N1.3 billion from former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo.

The Supreme Court ruled that the judgment convicting former governor Kalu of fraud to the tune of N7.56bn and sentencing him to 12 years imprisonment is a nullity. The apex court held that Justice Mohammed Idris, who delivered the judgment, was already sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal and therefore could not act as a judge of the High Court.

Seven sitting governors emerged senatorial candidates in the last APC primaries for the Senate, while 12 former governors also won their senatorial tickets at the primaries.
Others are serving governors Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun and Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State.

Okowa, Bello and Yero, alongside Senate President Akpabio, who is said to have had his prosecution for alleged mismanagement of N108 billion from Akwa Ibom State between 2007 and 2015 “put on hold by the EFCC,” are the other former governors with senatorial tickets in their pockets. He retained the APC ticket for the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.

Other former governors that have picked their senatorial tickets are Kalu (Abia); Oshiomhole (Edo); Wamakko (Sokoto); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Aliero (Kebbi), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano) and Sani Bello (Niger).

‘Major political parties rewarding those who abuse public trust, not committed to anti-graft war’ Ambassadorial nominee, Fasina calls for more PPP for national development
The events of the recent past have demonstrated that the major political parties lack the commitment to sustain a war against corruption and to work for the enthronement of probity and accountability. It is little wonder that political parties appear not to do enough to sift the grains from the chaff, with abundant evidence that about 10 per cent of the 109 Nigeria’s most senior lawmakers, some of whom occupy leadership positions, are being prosecuted for varying shades of crime and criminality.

You can see this in the way former governors who are being prosecuted for allegedly robbing the people of their commonwealth, some of whom have been jailed, are still being courted by the parties or handed the parties’ senatorial tickets on a platter.

Olanrewaju Suraju, the Chairman of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), could not disagree more. “Political parties in Nigeria are only a vehicle for the highest bidder to get into political offices. This is why nomination forms for political offices in these parties are priced beyond the reach of hard-working ordinary citizens.” The major parties are not committed to fight against corruption and even thrive on the proceeds of crimes to sustain their existence.”

A coalition in Niger State has expressed anger over the status quo and appealed to the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark and the party’s governorship screening committee to prevail on the Niger State ADC governorship aspirant to step down from the race over alleged N3 billion rice contract fraud.

The coalition emphasized that the opposition could not afford to present a candidate with what it described as a “tainted public image” after Mallam Idris Usman Makanta, popularly known as “Shinkafan Nupe,” left the APC to pitch a tent with the ADC.

Kammonke Abam, a Director and Co-founder of EduTimes Africa, is peeved that those who have, through their actions and inaction, encumbered the country’s democracy by stealing public funds or undermining public trust are repeatedly rewarded with higher political offices, including being saddled with the task of national lawmaking.

“Public trust is not in the vocabulary of most Nigerian politicians, their concerns most of the time are their selfish interests. This is not only a serious encumbrance to Nigeria’s democracy but also totally flawed. It is unfortunate that Nigeria’s political system does not strongly reward policy expertise or technocratic transitions and shuts out noble-minded persons. “Politics in Nigeria tends to recycle elites through available offices, at best, a cyclical system that is garbage in, garbage out.

How Prosecuted Lawmakers Block Reputational Damage, Impair Oversight Capabilities
AFTER party affiliation and constituents’ demands, institutional rules are the three most active forces in lawmaking, even as individual lawmakers’ personality traits act as a critical internal sifter. Also, several patterns emerge when analysing legislative behaviour through established frameworks like the Big Five Personality Traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) (OCEAN) and explain how personality traits affect how laws are written and passed.

This implies that the watchdog role of a legislator is weakened or nullified when he or she is being investigated by anti-graft bodies controlled by the executive since compromised bodies cannot be effectively audited, leading to a “quid pro quo” situation where oversight visits become instruments of mutual blackmail and personal enrichment.

Moreover, a legislative assembly that is hamstrung by heavily investigated members sustains countless operational wounds, such as institutional hostage-taking, collateral damage beyond reputation, crippled oversight capabilities, destruction of civil morale and democratic legitimacy.

This perhaps explains why India’s independence movement leader, Mahatma Gandhi, in his display of profound wisdom on law and justice, said: “An unjust law is a species of violence itself.”

One organisation that is particularly worried is the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) which is concerned that the continuous recycling of politically exposed individuals with corruption allegations weakens citizens’ confidence in democratic institutions and undermines anti-corruption efforts championed by the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

It says this trend feeds into legislative capture, where people with questionable track records occupy key oversight positions that can influence investigations, weaken accountability institutions, and frustrate reforms aimed at strengthening transparency in public finance and governance.

While every Nigerian has the constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, political parties, the group said, have a moral and democratic duty to maintain higher ethical standards in the selection of candidates. The mere presence of serious corruption allegations should suffice to compel parties to conduct serious integrity vetting before issuing tickets for sensitive public offices.

It, therefore, urged political parties to place competence, integrity and public credibility above political patronage and elite recycling. “Nigerians deserve a legislature populated by individuals committed to national development, accountability and the rule of law, not one increasingly perceived as a retirement haven for politically exposed persons facing corruption scrutiny,” said Auwal Musa, the Executive Director of CISLAC.

Suraju, who is also the Chairman, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), for his part, stressed that the hibernation of ex-governors in the Senate tremendously undermines its oversight and lawmaking mandates.

“Former state governors are running for the Senate either to serve as their retirement home, stepping stone for ministerial appointment or even to angle for presidential slots. No real commitment to legislation. Some even go to the chamber to find cover from continued EFCC prosecution. A quick scan of the ex-governors in the Senate, present or past, will prove this worrying trend. This has severely compromised the Senate’s oversight and lawmaking mandates.”

Abam, who is also the Project Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Profiles & Biographies, said on the surface, “it wouldn’t have been a bad idea for former governors to seek other elective offices, including going to the Senate, if the idea behind it was to deploy their wealth of experience in managing their states to the betterment of the nation. But we know their reasons are not altruistic. Why do I say that? Most of them have one or another corruption case hanging around their necks. And that is where it gets tricky and awry. The fact that the ruling party is giving senatorial tickets to former governors who are being probed for looting public funds speaks to the political culture that exists in the country.

The former aide to governors Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke, while condemning the lackadaisical pace of criminal litigations in the country that makes cases that should be dispatched with military alacrity to span years, said compromised lawmakers and their backers were constantly spinning things to weaken or numb the effect of anti-graft agencies.

But he said his recent interaction with a retired jurist revealed that intrigues and government’s interest were instrumental in bringing down corruption cases across the board.
Section 308 abuse turning anti-graft war into performance, delayed trials
THE prosecution of highly-placed Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) including presidents, vice president, governors and their deputies spanning multiple administrations (without success) after they have spent four to eight years in office, enjoying immunity, is a worrisome trend that makes a mockery of the country’s anti-graft war.

This is still a massive challenge that has to be tackled willy-nilly, but a lot of this fad is fuelled by the sloppy justice dispensation system that grinds slowly and the constitutional provision that permits suspected looters to swan around like vacationing millionaires for years as every accused is considered innocent until proved guilty.

In its 2018 report “Letting the Big Fish Swim,” the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) noted that “while “main anti-corruption agencies secured more than 1, 500 non-high profile convictions between 2000 – 2017, they could only muster 10 high-profile convictions within the same period.”

The EFCC has repeatedly shrugged off allegations of favouritism and reiterated its determination to prosecute thieving governors and other Nigerians but its record of prosecuting PEPs remains very poor. The EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed that eighteen governors are currently being probed for alleged financial crimes. It is heart warming but still Nigerians take it with a pinch of salt.

“The abuse of immunity provisions has had devastating implications for Nigeria’s development, with resources meant for healthcare, education, infrastructure, security and poverty alleviation allegedly being diverted without immediate legal consequences. “Citizens continue to suffer the burden of bad governance while accountability is postponed indefinitely,” said the CISLAC boss.

“Therefore, CISLAC is calling for a national conversation on the urgent need to review and reform Section 308 of the Constitution to prevent abuse of it. Immunity should not mean absolute protection from investigation or accountability. At the very least, anti-corruption agencies such as the EFCC and ICPC should be empowered to conduct comprehensive investigations and to preserve evidence against serving public officials until the end of their tenure…It is the duty of the political parties to promote credible candidates with demonstrated integrity and competence, not to reward political influence and money power.”

Suraju in chipping in his view on whether immunity should translate into absolute protection from investigation, accountability, regretted that the constitutional immunity clause is exploited by occupants of the office of governor.

Unfortunately, some of them either escaped or frustrated their trial by assuming offices as governors.

Immunity Clause as the ‘Biggest’ Enabler of Corruption in Governance
The immunity clause in the Nigerian Constitution is unconditional and total for presidents, vice presidents, governors and deputy governors. Some say this is the biggest and most fundamental cause of the massive stealing of public funds by mostly the state governors and other officials that enjoy immunity.

“State governors are the biggest thieves of public funds as well as the biggest threats to sustainable development, economic prosperity, infrastructural development and human security,” a former National Commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC), Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, alleged.

“The truth is that the endemic corruption perpetrated by governors in the states is the single, biggest driver of the mass and multidimensional poverty that is ravaging over 130 million Nigerians, according to the 2018 statistical report of the National Bureau of Statistics…The failure of the National Assembly to oversee the executive arm of government in the area of public procurement and execution of projects, creates room for corruption to thrive effectively even in the presidency and federal agencies. Poverty is ballooning out of control and the cost of living crisis and high costs of fuel are raging ferociously even when Nigeria is the 8th largest crude oil producer. “That’s a great irony.”

Founder of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Onwubiko, asked why the EFCC and the ICPC, which are busy prosecuting opposition politicians such as former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai and ex-Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, are turning blind eyes while Yahaya Bello, Okowa and Akpabio who have all been indicted of alleged thefts of public fund are running for offices on the ruling party’s platform. So blame the EFCC and ICPC for mortgaging their independence and being tied to the apron strings of APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who are dictating to the anti-graft agencies who to catch and who not to catch, making APC a refuge for indicted politically exposed persons in Nigeria.”