With Godswill already done as regard who will bark out orders as 10th Senate president, iwitnesslive.com David Kabiyesi X-rays past presidents and their turbulent reigns.
Evans Ewerem (1999)
Senator Evan Ewerem emerged as Nigeria’s first Senate President under Nigeria’s first journey into democracy in 1999.
He came with such pomp and pageantry that caused many to believe that the country is about to witness a breath of fresh air. Alas! The smaller rocks are the first to go down when the flood comes as Ewerem could only last for six months on the seat.
He was impeached by the house claiming he was forcefully imposed on them by Obasanjo.
Chuba Okadigbo
He must be turning in his grave now as Nigerian politicians elect the third and fourth man in the hierarchy of power. Looking back at his tenure, his ascension to the seat of Senate President was as dramatic as his exit He was flamboyant, witty all rolled into one, and that made Obasanjo hate him with so much passion, and it took the Army general no time to plot his exit.
With no safety nets around to protect him from many traps, Okadigbo let his guard down as 81 votes against his 14 saw him thrown out of the senate in the year 2000 after an inquiry was set up to see his many shady deals in awarding contracts
He would be remembered as the only Senator with the highest numbers of cars after he spent over $290, 000 on eight cars. His fleet of cars swelled to 32 when he was impeached.
Anyim Pius Anyim
The soap opera and intrigues that characterized the tenure of his predecessors made him study the terrain clearly before coming on board.
Anyim might not be anywhere near his two predecessors in terms of political know-how and charisma, but he thread it carefully and reigned from 2000-2003
He will be remembered for bringing stability into the Nigerian senate at a time when long tenure as president was becoming a jinx owing to power play.
Having survived many plots to get him impeached, Anyim turned against the president, Olusegun Obasanjo even though he claimed that those rumors were not his. He never sought for re-election after his first four years in office.
Adolphus Wabara
With the template for stability already laid down by Pium Anyim, it was Wabara’s turn to test the waters given the inherent powerplay within the senate.
He never enjoyed a smooth reign as he found himself in EFCC net after he was accused of collecting N55 million from Minister of Education, Dr. Fabian Osuji back then. Senator David Mark then moved 86 Senators against Wabara, calling for his impeachment. He reigned from 2003-2005.
Ken Nnamani
Uncle Ken as he is fondly called by some of his admirers in the Senate ascended the throne on April 5, 2005, and bowed out in 2007. Flying a kite of becoming the country’s president and kicking against Obasanjo’s third term bid. These were his sins.
A hardliner against third-term rule be it Senate, House of Reps, or Presidency. He stood for equity and fought Obasanjo to a standstill, and his battle of yesterday has become Nigeria’s style of government.
David Mark
If there was any Senate president who ensured that the country’s third seat of power experienced more stability, that person was David Mark.Although he plotted a third-term bid which never materialized at all.Bukola Saraki
The former Kwara state governor became Senate president in June 2015 and his tenure will go down in history as the only senate that passed about 201 bills.He left office in June 2019.
Ahmad Lawan
He became Senate President in 2019 from the Yobe North Senatorial district and left his role a few days ago. He enjoyed a peaceful reign simply because he was always willing to obey and pass every proposed bill from the immediate president, Muhammadu Buhari. He played his card well and was always in the good bok of the president.
Godswill Akpabio (Incumbent)
The former Akwa Ibom State Governor became the 10th Senate President on Tuesday, June 13 after he polled 63 votes to edge out ex-Zamfara Governor Abdulaziz Yari who could only muster 46 votes.
