CONFIRMED!!! 52 Serving Senators Set To Leave National Assembly After 2027 Election
No fewer than 52 serving senators in the 10th National Assembly are set to leave the Senate at the end of their tenure in June 2027 after failing to secure places on the final list of candidates for the forthcoming National Assembly elections.
The Genius Media Nigeria reports that the development followed the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) release of the final list of candidates cleared to contest the January 16, 2027, presidential and National Assembly elections.
Findings by Nigerian Tribune, showed that while the political parties submitted the names of about 57 serving senators for the senatorial election, 52 other members of the current Senate were left out of the final list.
Their exclusion means they will not return to the Senate in the 11th National Assembly unless the candidates’ list is later changed in line with the Electoral Act.
The inability of the affected lawmakers to secure return tickets was not solely linked to failed primaries.
Some senators voluntarily opted for other political offices, particularly governorship positions, while others stepped aside following political agreements with their state governors.
In Ogun State, for instance, Senator Ademola Solomon Olamilekan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, will not return to the Senate after securing the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket.
Former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, will also not return as Senator representing Ogun East after Governor Dapo Abiodun emerged as the candidate for the senatorial seat.
In Nasarawa State, former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Aliyu Wadada, is seeking to become governor after securing the APC ticket.
A similar development occurred in Imo State, where Senator Osita Izunaso’s Imo West senatorial ticket was ceded to Governor Hope Uzodinma.
Governors also took over senatorial tickets in some other states, including Yobe and Gombe.
In Sokoto State, former Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is among the senators who will leave the chamber after failing to secure a return ticket.
Tambuwal, a former presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reportedly stepped aside for a younger aspirant as part of a power-sharing arrangement within his current party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Meanwhile, the INEC list shows that 57 serving senators have secured their parties’ tickets and remain in contention for seats in the 11th National Assembly.
In Lagos State, Senators Adetokunbo Abiru, Adebule Idiat Oluranti and Sanni Eshilokun secured tickets for Lagos East, Lagos West and Lagos Central respectively.
The three serving senators in Ekiti State also obtained return tickets. They are Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu; and Senator Fasuyi Cyril Oluwole.
The same situation applies in Akwa Ibom State, where Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Senator Aniekan Bassey, and Senator Ekong Sampson secured tickets for Akwa Ibom North-West, North-East, and South, respectively.
All three serving senators from Borno State, including Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, are also on the list of lawmakers cleared to contest the 2027 elections.
Despite the publication of the final list, political parties may still make changes under certain circumstances provided by the Electoral Act 2026.
Section 31 of the Act allows a candidate to withdraw by submitting a written notice and sworn affidavit to the political party that nominated him or her. The party must then forward the documents to INEC no later than 90 days before the election.
Section 33 also restricts candidate substitution, allowing changes only in cases involving a candidate’s death or withdrawal, subject to the provisions of the law.
The Act further requires INEC to publish the names and addresses of all nominated candidates at least 60 days before election day.
With the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, political parties still have a window within which eligible withdrawals and substitutions may alter some of the current line-ups.
