By Abigail Jeremiah.
The 2027 general elections may be full of surprises as no fewer than 45 former and serving Senators may be returning for the 11th Senate.
Findings revealed that some of these non serving senators who are third or fourth termers at the red chambers may be highly favourable to be re elected due to the huge advantages their re election will bring to their various constituencies.
Speaking anonymously with this reporter, a source which is close to the National Assembly said “Yes, quite a number of senators not fewer than 40 % of old Senators in the 3rd, 4th ,5th and 6th Senate are coming back to re contest for the Senate seat again.
“Information at our disposal revealed that some of the senators are being sponsored by their respective state governments and members of their constituencies because they know so well what a high ranking senators can attract to their people.
“For example we know some of these former distinguished senators who have served meritoriously were now being persuaded by some of their state governors and well meaning members of their constituencies to purchase the nomination forms while forms were bought outrightly for some of them.
“We know that not fewer than 45 serving and former senators are returning back to the Senate because of the huge advantages a ranking senator has over new ones. They are always at vantage positions to navigate and interface at the national level and then liaise with their respective state governors to bring more democracy dividends to the people
“To the best of our knowledge, some of these former senators who have already collected their nomination forms and screened at their respective states and on their way back to the Senate are former deputy Senate president ,Senator Ovie Omo Agege of Delta state, senator Wowo FCT, former deputy leader, Senator Bala Naala Bauchi State, senator Tolu Odeseyi Ogun State,.
“Others are Senator Dimbo and Senator Victor Pam from Plateau, Senator Olujumi and Senator Ayo Arise of Ekiti, Senator Ben Bruce Bayelsa, Senator shehu Sani Kaduna and Senator Obadara from Ogun State, just to mention but a few.
“All these people have been one time or the other elected as senators with some of them elected three or four times and we learnt forces at their various states may be agitating for their return back to the Senate again to be credible voices to their various constituencies and boost the development there” the source said
In Kogi state, however, it is yet to be seen how an old experienced hand may be re elected back to the Senate as all the aspirant s jostling for the positions in the three Senatorial district only has Smart
Adeyemi from the Kogi west who is obviously the oldest and most experienced among the aspirants having been elected three times.
Meanwhile, a socio-cultural group under the aegis of Okun Frontline Leaders has said Kogi west Senatorial district deserves a high ranking senator in the 11th Senate as it will attract several amenities and infrastructures to the zone.
A socio-cultural group under the aegis of Okun Frontline Leaders has said Kogi west Senatorial district deserves a high ranking senator in the 11th Senate as it will boost the ranking of the senator to attract several amenities and infrastructures to the zone.
In a press statement made available to newsmen in lokoja and signed by the group’s spokesman, Dr Johnson Eseyin Ojo, it said Kogi west should emulate other states of the federation whose state governors are so magnanimous enough to beckon on their old senators to re contest the Senatorial positions so as to draw more dividends of democracy to the people.
The statement said why can’t Kogi West replicate what other states are doing vote for one of the aspirants who has been there before and is a respected voice in the Senate even as it appeals to Gov Ododo to support an old reliable hand.
