Hello guys. Today we are coming to you with something interesting. I mean the information you might have long wished to come across, which is ‘List of Senate Presidents in Nigeria From Independence’ (1960) Till Date.
This article will contain the names of every person appointed into office from 1960 till today.
About Senate President in Nigeria
The President of the Nigerian Senate is the presiding officer of the Senate of Nigeria, elected by its membership. The Senate President is regarded as the second man in the country after the VP and second in line for succession to the Nigerian presidency title after the Vice President of Nigeria.
NOTE: Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan is active now.
List of Senate Presidents in Nigeria and their Political Party
1. Nnamdi Azikiwe: 1960 NCNC
2. Dennis Osadebey: 1960-1963 NCNC
3. Nwafor Orizu: 1963-1966 NCNC
4. Joseph Wayas: 1979-1983 NPN
5. Iyorchia Ayu: 1992-1993 SDP
6. Ameh Ebute: 1993 SDP
7. Evan Enwerem: 1999 PDP
8. Chuba Okadigbo: 1999-2000 PDP
9. Anyim Pius Anyim: 2000-2003 PDP
10. Adolphus Wabara: 2003-2005 PDP
11. Ken Nnamani: 2005-2007 PDP
12. David Mark: 2007-2015 PDP
12. Bokula Saraki: 2015-2019 APC
13. Ahmed Lawan: 2019-DATE APC
Analysis of Senate Presidents in Nigeria and their Political Party
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Azikiwe served as Nigeria’s first senate president from 1 January 1960 to 1 October 1960. He later became Nigeria’s first president in 1963-1966. He was a key figure in the fight for Nigeria’s independence.
He was raised in Zungeru, present-day Niger State, to Igbo mom and dad from Anambra State in Eastern Nigeria. As a child, he mastered Hausa (The native language of Northern Nigeria)
Azikiwe eventually relocated to Onitsha, Nigeria, to stay with his grandmother and auntie, where he learned the Igbo language.
He learned the Yoruba language during a visit to Lagos, and at the moment he was in university, he had been introduced to many Nigerian ethnicities. He knew 3 languages fluently (an asset as president).
Dennis Osadebey
Dennis Osadebey served as Nigeria’s senate president from 1 October 1960 – 1964. He was a politician and one of Nigeria’s most famous poets.
Osadebay was a member of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) when it was founded in 1944.
Several years down the line, he left the homeland to study law. After getting his degree, he moved to Nigeria, opened a law business in Aba, and served as the NCNC’s legal counsel. He ran for and won an election in the Western Region House of Assembly in 1951, ruled by the Action Group (AG).
From 1954 until 1956, he was the opposition leader in the region, but in 1956, he handed over the reins to Adegoke Adelabu. In 1958, he resumed his familiar opposing stance shortly after the death of Adegoke Adelabu.
In 1960, he was elected President of the Nigerian Senate, and when the Mid-Western Region was established in 1963, he became the region’s first Premier.
Nwafor Orizu
Nwafor Orizu was an Igbo politician and became the senate president of Nigeria from 16 November 1960 until 15 January 1966. He briefly served as Nigeria’s acting president from January 1965 until 1966. He was royalty by birth.
Orizu was elected as the chief whip in the Eastern House of Assembly after running as an independent candidate for the Onitsha Region.
Later, he formed the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon with other independent candidates (NCNC).
He was instrumental in Zik’s election as premier of the Eastern Region, using his NCNC power to convince Professor Eyo Ita to leave as the Region’s premier. Orizu was named Minister of Local Government by Zik.
Orizu was elected President of the Nigerian Senate when the country gained independence on October 1, 1960.
Read: https://awajis.com/pdp-membership-registration/
Joseph Wayas
Joseph Wayas was made Senate president from 1979 until 1983. He is from Obudu, Cross River state.
When General Olusegun Obasanjo ended military control in 1979, Joseph Wayas was sworn into office as a senator and elected Senate President on the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) platform.
Senator Joseph Oqua Ansa served the Calabar senatorial district while he served the Ogoja senatorial district. President Shehu Shagari and Wayas had a great working relationship, and Wayas ensured that bills were thoroughly studied and agreed upon before being presented.
Wayas sometimes used to play ping pong with Mr. Thomas R. Pickering, the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, before accompanying Pickering to the Presidential Palace on Ribadu Road to meet with President Shagari, which was against regulations.
The Senate subpoenaed Tony Momoh, the publisher of the Daily Times, for defiance under Wayas’ command. This sparked a massive judicial struggle in which Momoh correctly asserted that as a journalist, he was obligated to criticize the government at all times under the law.
Wayas was hosted by boxing champion Muhammad Ali during a trip to the United States in September 1981, who organized a fantastic banquet in his honor. Ali had already visited Nigeria and had been lavished with attention.
Wayas was the head of the NPN’s “Lagos Group” in the 1983 election, which backed a transition of government in Cross River State in resistance to the “Home Front” spearheaded by sitting governor Clement Isong.
When General Muhammadu Buhari conducted a coup on New Year’s Eve in 1983, Wayas, as well as other stalwarts of the Shagari cabinet, abandoned office and fled the country. In 1987, he returned to the United States and was placed under political incarceration from 1987 to 1988.
Iyorchia Ayu
Iyorchia Ayu hails from Benue State. He served as the senate president of Nigeria from 1992 to 1993. He later served as the Minister of Education, Minister of Information and Minister of Internal Affairs.
He is the current Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee[
Ameh Ebute
Ameh Ebute is from Benue State. He served as Nigeria’s senate president in 1993.
Evan Enwerem
Evan Enwerem was an indigene of Imo state. He was elected senate president of Nigeria from 3 June 1999 until 18 November 1999. He was a loyal PDP member.
In Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, he was the first Nigerian Senate President.
On June 3, 1999, Enwerem defeated Senator Chuba Okadigbo for the Senate presidency.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo endorsed Enwerem over Okadigbo for Senate President. Enwerem comfortably beat Okadigbo with 66 votes to Okadigbo’s 43 votes, especially with the help of Obasanjo’s supporters in the ruling party and two Nigerian opposition parties.
Enwerem only served as President of the Nigerian Senate for a short time. In 1999, a Nigerian Senate committee began investigating corruption claims against Enwerem.
The claims against Enwerem included allegations that he lied about his name, sparking debate about whether Enwerem’s real name was Evan or Evans.
Enwerem was deposed from office on November 18, 1999, by loyalists of Chuba Okadigbo.
Enwerem stayed as a member of the Senate until 2003, despite being dismissed as Senate president.
Chuba Okadigbo
Chuba Okadigbo, alias ‘Oyi,’ was a Nigerian politician and political scientist. He served as Nigerian senate president from 1999 until 2000.
Anyim Pius Anyim
Anyim Pius Anyim is a Nigerian politician who led Nigeria’s senate house from August 2000 until May 2003. He later served as the secretary to the federal government in Goodluck Jonathan’s government. He is a member of the People’s Democratic Party.
Adolphus Wabara
Adolphus Wabara is an Abia state indigene. He led the Nigerian Senate from 2003 to 2005. He resigned from this position in 2005.
Ken Nnamani
Ken Nnamani is a Nigerian politician who led the Nigerian senate-house from 5 April 2005 till May 2007. He is from Enugu state.
David Mark
David Mark is from Benue State. He led the Nigerian senate house of reps from 2007 to 2015. He was a retired Brigadier General in the Nigerian Army. He is a member of the PDP.
Bukola Saraki
Bukola Saraki served as Nigerian senate leader from 2015 to 2019. He was a former governor of Kwara State and won the senate election in 2011. He decamped from PDP to APC in 2015. He later returned to PDP in 2018. He has variously declared his intention to run as a presidential candidate.
Ahmed Lawan
Ahmed Lawan is a Nigerian politician from Yobe State. He is a member of the APC and has been a member of the Nigerian Senate since 2007. He has been the current Senate president since 2019. He had been an academician before he entered politics.
Fun Facts
- The only Nigerian Senate President who ever became president via the legal succession process was Nwafor Orizu. Later, he had to give up control of the Aguiyi-Ironsi military dictatorship.
- Anyim Pius Anyim, born on February 19, 1961, was the 1st Senate President born post-independence.
- David Mark got the first person to remain Senate president and serve an additional term in 2011. Without a challenge, he and his deputy were renominated.
- David Mark was the longest-serving senate president (2007–2015), and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, was the longest-serving deputy senate president (2007–2019).
- The first ex-governor who was a non-military to lead the Senate was Bukola Saraki.
- Bukola Saraki was the first president of the Nigerian Senate who was not born in Nigeria; he was born and raised in the city of London, Great Britain.
Final NOTE
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