Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has secured the ticket to be the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in his senatorial district.
His current tenure as Governor is constitutionally set to expire in 2027. This development raises an intriguing constitutional poser: can he be inaugurated as Senator before his governorship tenure comes to an end, thereby holding both offices simultaneously?
The answer is found in Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which provides:
“The Governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.”
Although the office of a Senator is legislative rather than executive, it is nonetheless a substantive constitutional office with remuneration and responsibilities.
By implication, a sitting Governor cannot lawfully serve as Senator while still holding office as Governor. He must vacate the governorship before assuming the senatorial seat.
The timing of legislative transition further complicates matters. Under Section 64(1) of the Constitution, the life of the National Assembly is four years from the date of its first sitting.
The present National Assembly will therefore come to an end when the President proclaims to dissolve it after his own inauguration on 29 May 2027.
Consequently, the new session of the National Assembly is expected to be proclaimed and inaugurated in June 2027.
Thus, Governor Uzodinma faces a constitutional crossroads: if he wins the senatorial election, he cannot be inaugurated into the Senate while still serving as Governor.
He must either complete his governorship tenure before stepping into the Senate or resign from the governorship to take up the legislative seat. The Constitution is clear—he cannot hold both offices contemporaneously.