Key political events in Nigeria that made headlines in 2024

With the year 2024 gradually coming to a close, it was a year with many political intrigues, drama and controversies, from the tough reforms of the Bola Tinubu’s administration to the crisis in the opposition parties, then to the off-cycle gubernatorial elections.

For many people 2024 would not be easily forgotten, as some political events shaped the outgoing year in Nigeria, particularly at the states level and as the country navigates the complex intersections of governance and power.

Some of these political events caught significant attention and would perhaps, determine lots of things, permutations ahead of future elections.

Kano election judgement

After the defeat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Rabiu Kwankwaso-inspired New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election, the APC challenged the outcome of the governorship election result up to the Supreme Court.

In January, the Supreme Court upheld the election of Kano state governor, Yusuf Abba Kabir of the NNPP. The court, in a much-followed judgment on Friday, January 12, held that the appeal by Yusuf and his party, the APC was meritorious. Justice John Okoro, who read the lead judgment, set aside the judgment of the court of appeal and that of the election tribunal that had sacked the NNPP candidate.

The judgment elicited large jubilation across Kano State and brought down tension which was building weeks to the judgment day. There were fears in some quarters that the ruling party may use its influence to manipulate the court judgement.

Wike-Fubara disagreement in Rivers State

In Rivers State the political climate has been tense few months after the assumption of office by Governor Sim Fubara in 2023. There was major political disagreement and dispute between the incumbent governor and his godfather Nyesom Wike.

Although tension reduced significantly towards the end of 2024, it was a major political disagreement that led to serious crisis in the oil-rich state, especially after Governor Fubara went ahead to conduct council election after sacking the former chairmen loyal to Wike.

Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), accused the Governor Fubara of betraying the trust he had in him and working against his interest since assuming office.

Fubara, who was a former accountant general of the state in the Wike’s administration, after assuming office wanted to be left alone. But Wike claims the governor is destroying the political structure he (Wike) built over the years with hard work.

But with the rift degenerating into a worrying level, local government secretariats were burnt and the presidential intervention proved futile.

Sack of ministers in October

After a long wait by Nigerians, President Tinubu sacked six ministers and appointed seven new ones in October.

The President also reassigned 10 ministers to new positions. The six sacked ministers are Betta Edu (humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation), Uju-Ken Ohanenye (women affairs), Lola Ade-John (Tourism), Tahir Mamman (education), Abdullahi Gwarzo (housing and urban development), and Jamila Ibrahim (youth development).

The sack of the ministers by the Tinubu’s administration was unlike the previous administration of Muhammadu Buhari where there was no cabinet change for almost four years.

Apart from Edu whose case in the humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation ministry was a public knowledge, many of the Ministers were removed for various reasons; while for some it was purely for non-performance.

Opposition politicians join Tinubu’s camp

Just like it was predicted after the 2023 general election, many top politicians defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to work with President Tinubu in 2024.

After months of rumour, many of them publicly announced their decision to move to the APC and identify with his Tinubu’s administration.

Key opposition figures like Reno Omokri and Daniel Bwala publicly expressed their support for President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.

In October, Omokri, an avid social media user, revealed that he would vote for President Tinubu over the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Atiku Abubakar. Before that time, Omokri had never supported an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.

In the same vein, Bwala, the special adviser to the president on public communication and media, ruled out the possibility of Tinubu and the ruling APC losing the 2027 presidential election.

The presidential spokesman who used to be a member of the PDP and was Atiku’s spokesman in the 2023 presidential election, made the assertion at a media parley held at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja earlier in December. Bwala stated that President Tinubu would contest, win and return to office for his second term in 2027.

Edo governorship election

One of the two off-cycle gubernatorial elections which were held in 2024 was in Edo State.

Described as controversial in many circles due to the manner it was conducted, the governorship election took place on Saturday, September 21, where a new governor of the state was elected.

The keenly contested poll had about seventeen candidates in the ballot but the two major candidates were of the APC and PDP.

The APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo, was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on September 22, 2024.

Okpebholo won with a total of 291,667 votes, defeating the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes, and the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata, who came third with 22,763 votes.

For many observers, Okpebholo’s victory was surprising considering his inability to articulate himself during the electioneering period.

Ondo governorship election

The Ondo State’s 2024 governorship election was conducted on Saturday, November 16.

Incumbent APC Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa ran for election to a full term and won with over 366,000 votes, defeating former deputy governor Agboola Ajayi of the PDP who came second with 117,000 votes, and 15 other candidates.

Aiyedatiwa was the former deputy governor who became governor after the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in December 2023. Due to the crisis in the opposition parties, many where not expecting much from them and so it was on election day.

Crisis in opposition parties

In 2024 the internal crisis rocking opposition parties in the country escalated, leading to the defection of key members to the ruling party, APC.

Also in the Labour Party, the crisis worsened with members challenging the continued stay in office of Julius Abure as national chairman. However, a Supreme Court ruling ruled in Abure’s favour leading to his continuous stay in office earlier in 2024.

In the PDP, the internal crisis became pronounced in 2024 with calls for the removal of Umar Damagum as the national chairman.

In the APC, although there seems to be peace, some groups called for the removal of the national chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, after he was suspended in his ward earlier in the year.