Full List Of Nigerian Governors Who Have Been Impeached

Impeachment has remained one of the most dramatic ways an elected governor can be removed from office in Nigeria.

Since Nigeria adopted the presidential system of government in 1979, only a small number of governors have actually been removed through impeachment, despite numerous attempts against state chief executives.

The first was Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa of Kaduna State in 1981. During the Fourth Republic, which began in 1999, six governors have been removed through impeachment proceedings: Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Rashidi Ladoja, Ayodele Fayose, Peter Obi, Joshua Dariye and Murtala Nyako.

However, an important distinction remains. Nigerian courts later declared several of those removals unconstitutional, resulting in some affected governors being reinstated.

Below is a look at Nigerian governors who have been impeached and what eventually happened in each case.

1. Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa — Kaduna State

Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa holds the distinction of being the first elected state governor in Nigeria to be impeached.

Musa was elected governor of the old Kaduna State in 1979 on the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) platform during Nigeria’s Second Republic.

His administration faced a hostile House of Assembly dominated by members of the rival National Party of Nigeria.

Political disagreements between Musa and the legislature intensified over his cabinet composition and his administration’s policies.

The Kaduna State House of Assembly eventually began impeachment proceedings against him.

He was removed from office on June 23, 1981. His deputy, Abba Musa Rimi, succeeded him.

Balarabe Musa later maintained that his removal was politically motivated and connected with his opposition to the economic and political interests of powerful figures in the state.

His impeachment nevertheless stood, and he never returned to the governorship.

2. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha — Bayelsa State

Former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, became the first governor to be successfully impeached during Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

Alamieyeseigha was elected governor in 1999 on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform and secured another term in 2003.

His administration later became engulfed in allegations of corruption and money laundering.

He was arrested in the United Kingdom in 2005 on money-laundering allegations before returning controversially to Nigeria.

On December 9, 2005, the Bayelsa State House of Assembly impeached him following allegations including corruption, abuse of office and financial misconduct.

His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, was subsequently sworn in as governor of Bayelsa State.

Unlike several impeachment cases that followed, the courts did not overturn Alamieyeseigha’s removal.

He later faced prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and pleaded guilty to corruption-related offences.

3. Rashidi Ladoja — Oyo State

Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja became governor of Oyo State in May 2003 on the PDP platform.

His administration was soon caught up in a bitter political confrontation involving sections of the Oyo State House of Assembly and influential political actors.

On January 12, 2006, a faction of lawmakers announced Ladoja’s removal from office. His deputy, Christopher Alao-Akala, was sworn in as governor.

Ladoja, however, challenged the impeachment in court.

The dispute eventually reached the Supreme Court, which upheld the finding that the procedure used to remove him failed to comply with Section 188 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court noted that a faction of the 32-member House had taken steps towards the impeachment without the constitutionally required majority.

The impeachment was therefore declared unconstitutional, null and void. Ladoja returned to office in December 2006 and completed his term in May 2007.

4. Ayodele Fayose — Ekiti State

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was also removed during the politically turbulent year of 2006.

Fayose had defeated incumbent Governor Niyi Adebayo in the 2003 election and assumed office on May 29 of that year.

In 2006, the Ekiti State House of Assembly initiated impeachment proceedings against Fayose and his deputy amid allegations of mismanaging state funds.

On October 16, 2006, lawmakers announced Fayose’s removal from office. Ekiti State’s official historical record acknowledges that the State Assembly purported to impeach Fayose on that date.

The political situation deteriorated rapidly, prompting then-President Olusegun Obasanjo to declare a state of emergency in Ekiti and appoint retired Brigadier-General Adetunji Olurin as administrator.

Years later, Fayose returned to politics and won the 2014 Ekiti governorship election.

His previous impeachment became a major issue in litigation challenging his eligibility to contest.

In 2015, the Supreme Court upheld Fayose’s election and held that he had not been legally impeached under the Constitution, undermining the legal validity of the 2006 removal.

Fayose subsequently completed another term as Ekiti governor from 2014 to 2018.

5. Peter Obi — Anambra State

Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, experienced one of Nigeria’s shortest-lived impeachments.

Obi assumed office on March 17, 2006, after a lengthy court battle over the 2003 governorship election.

Only months later, on November 2, 2006, a group of lawmakers voted to remove him from office over allegations of gross misconduct.

His deputy, Virginia Etiaba, consequently became governor, making her Nigeria’s first female state governor.

However, Obi challenged his removal in court.

Human Rights Watch reported that the lawmakers who voted for the impeachment did not have the constitutionally required two-thirds majority of the full Anambra State House of Assembly.

The courts subsequently nullified the impeachment. Obi was restored to office on February 9, 2007, after the Court of Appeal upheld the decision invalidating his removal.

He later secured another landmark Supreme Court judgment establishing that his four-year tenure should run from the date he actually took the oath of office rather than the general election cycle.

Obi eventually served until 2014 after winning re-election in 2010.

6. Joshua Dariye — Plateau State

Former Plateau State, Governor Joshua Dariye, was another governor removed during the wave of impeachments in 2006.

Dariye was elected governor in 1999 and returned for another term in 2003.

His administration faced allegations of corruption, money laundering and diversion of public funds.

On November 13, 2006, lawmakers announced that Dariye had been impeached.

His deputy, Michael Botmang, took over as governor.

However, a major constitutional problem followed the removal.

Plateau State had a 24-member House of Assembly, but only a small number of lawmakers participated in the impeachment process.

The case eventually reached the Supreme Court.

In its April 2007 judgment, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision nullifying Dariye’s removal and ordering his reinstatement.

The courts found that the impeachment failed to meet the constitutional requirements for removing a governor.

Dariye returned to office shortly before his tenure expired on May 29, 2007.

7. Murtala Nyako — Adamawa State

Former naval officer Murtala Nyako remains the most recent Nigerian governor removed through a completed impeachment process.

Nyako became governor of Adamawa State in 2007 and later won subsequent elections following legal disputes surrounding his original mandate.

During his second term, relations between the governor and the Adamawa State House of Assembly deteriorated.

Lawmakers accused his administration of gross misconduct and financial impropriety.

On July 15, 2014, 17 members of the 25-member Adamawa State House of Assembly adopted the investigative panel’s report and removed Nyako from office.

Then-Speaker Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri became acting governor following the impeachment.

Nyako challenged the process in court.

In February 2016, the Court of Appeal declared his impeachment unconstitutional, null and void, holding that he had not been given a fair hearing and that the Assembly had failed to follow proper constitutional procedure.

The court ordered that he receive the rights and entitlements attached to the office.

However, Nyako could not physically return to Government House because his term had already expired.