Why Former Governors Refuse to Leave the Corridors of Power

This is a question that continues to echo across the country: Why do so many former governors want to become senators? Why do politicians spend eight full years in Government House, oversee billions in allocations, leave behind a trail of unfinished projects and disappointed citizens, only to immediately launch another campaign for the Senate?

Has the governorship lost its prestige, or is there a deeper political game at play?

The Expectation of Legacy As citizens, our expectations are straightforward. We elect a governor to spend their tenure building enduring infrastructure—roads, schools, hospitals, and industries that will outlive their administration. We expect them to focus on legacy. We want to see a tangible transformation that justifies the mandate they were given.

Yet, increasingly, the trend is clear: complete a two-term tenure, hand over, and quickly seek a comfortable seat in the Red Chamber.

The Survival of Political Empires To understand this shift, we have to look at the mechanics of Nigerian politics. For many former governors, the transition to the Senate is strictly about remaining politically relevant. In our political climate, leaving office often equates to a sudden loss of influence, access, and control over grassroots structures. A Senate seat keeps them firmly within the corridors of power.

For others, the Senate is a fortress used to preserve the political empires they spent eight years building. Simply put, they do not want to retire from the game.

Then, there is the undeniable prestige of being addressed as a “Distinguished Senator.” Beyond the title, the position offers immense national visibility, influence over federal appointments, leverage in budget negotiations, and a direct hand in national policy decisions.

The Difficult Questions We Must Ask Critics, however, point to a glaring contradiction. If eight years as an executive governor, with absolute control over state resources—were not enough to transform a state, what exactly is left to accomplish as a single voice in the Senate?

Shouldn’t leaders aspire to leave behind enduring legacies rather than treating the National Assembly as a political retirement home?

Nigerians deserve to ask these difficult questions:

• Did our governors finish the job we elected them to do?
• Are they seeking the Senate to genuinely serve the people, or simply to remain close to power?

The Power of the Ballot Ultimately, the beauty of democracy is that it gives us the final say. If we believe a former governor still has genuine value to offer at the federal level, we can vote for them. But if we look back at their eight years and see a record that falls drastically short, we possess the power to reject them at the ballot box.

What has been your observation in your own state? Did your former governor leave a lasting legacy, or did they simply move their ambitions to Abuja? The answers to these questions reveal a lot about how we truly view leadership, accountability, and legacy in our country.