Lt. Colonel Joseph Iorshagher Akaagerger (born 5 May 1956) was the Military Administrator of
Katsina State
Katsina State ''(Hausa: Jihar Katsina) (Fula: Leydi Katsina 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞥁𞤭𞤲𞤢)'' is a state in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Katsina State was created in 1987, when it split from Kaduna State. Today, K ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
from August 1998 to 29 May 1999.
After the return to democracy, in April 2007 he was elected to the
Senate representing
Benue North East.
Background
Akaagerger was born on 5 May 1956 in
Konshisha
Konshisha is a local government area of Benue State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Tse-Agberagba.
It has an area of 1,673 km and a population of 225,672 at the 2006 census. The area is majorly populated by members of the T ...
local government area of
Benue State
Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...
, of
Tiv origins.
He attended Government Secondary School,
Gboko
Gboko is a town in the Benue State of North-central Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. ...
(1969–1973).
Joining the army, he attended the
Nigerian Defence Academy
The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of ...
,
Kaduna
Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...
(1976–1977), the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(1977–79).
He also obtained LLB and LLM degrees from the
University of Jos
The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a Federal University in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria.
History
What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. ...
and a doctorate degree in International Economic Law from the
Ahmadu Bello University
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, A ...
, Zaria.
He holds the traditional title of Ambe u Konshisha (the Konshisha Crocodile).
[
]
He is a kinsman of former Attorney-General and Justice Minister
Michael Aondoakaa.
Military career
Akaagerger held various posts in the army, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel.
He was a Directing Staff at the
Command and Staff College,
Zaria
Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna State, Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau, Zazzau Emirate ...
when he was appointed Military Administrator of Katsina State during the transitional regime of General
Abdulsalami Abubakar
Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a Nigerian statesman and retired Nigerian Army general who served as the ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff between 1997 and 1998. He succeede ...
in August 1998.
[
He was said to have provided state funding for the successful Katsina governorship campaign of ]Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2 ...
(later to become president), who took office at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic is the current republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999, it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 an ...
in May 1999.[
After the handover it was found that the state had a liability of N35 million from the ministries, N174 million from the parastatals and an overdraft from Bank of the North in the region of N75 million, as well as other debts.
Following the return to democracy, as a former military administrator he was required to retire from the army.
]
Senator
Akaagerger joined the United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP).
In the 2003 elections, he was UNPP candidate for election to the Senate in Benue State
Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is t ...
for the Benue North East constituency, but was not elected.
In June 2004 he crossed over to the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
In the 2007 elections he ran again for Benue NE, this time on the PDP platform.
In the primaries, he did not obtain the required 2/3 majority, but was elected as candidate on a straight majority, as was Senator David Mark
David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark , is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and politician. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Benue South Senatorial District Benue State. He is a member of th ...
in the Benue South senatorial zone.
Unongo gave him his support, and he was elected, taking office in May 2007.
In January 2008, an election petition tribunal in Makurdi
Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popul ...
nullified his election on the basis that there had been massive allocations of votes, as opposed to actual voting, and ordered fresh elections to be held. He appealed the judgement .
In February 2008, Akaagerger was named Publicity Secretary for the Northern Senators Forum.
Akaagerger made provision of health care his priority.[ In December 2008, he stated that his free medical scheme in the state, which was being executed in partnership with the Grassroots Doctors Society, had spent N50 million and had benefited 23,000 people.
In October 2009, he raised the alarm over the ]Lake Nyos
Lake Nyos ( ) is a crater lake in the Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé, the capital. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity ...
natural dam, located in the Cameroons
British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of N ...
, which empties into the Benue River. The lake sits on a magma chamber and is saturated with CO2, which has erupted in the past. The dam wall has been weakening, and a seismic event could cause a disaster in downstream Nigeria. Akaagerger called for precautions including speeding up work on the Kashimbilla buffer dam project.
In May 2009, Akaagerger and nine other senators were referred to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for investigation in regards to a controversial expenses paid trip to Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
.
In July 2009, a Senate Committee named ex-directors of 13 failed banks as being involved in credit abuse which had led to the banks' failure. Akaagerger was opposed to making the names public, since they included the chairmen of boards of some federal government agencies.
A list issued in October 2009 by the Central Bank of Nigeria of non-performing loans in five banks that had to be bailed out showed that Akaagerger was indebted by N534 million to Spring Bank Plc.
In a March 2010 interview Akaagerger expressed optimism that the proposed electoral reforms would be resolved before the 2011 elections.
Later career
In January 2011 former PDP National Chairman Barnabas Gemade defeated Akaagerger and others to become the PDP candidate for Senate in Benue North East.
In March 2011, Akaagerger said change had become necessary. If the Action Congress of Nigeria
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), formerly known as Action Congress (AC), was a Nigerian political party formed via the merger of a faction of Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance Congress of Democrats, and several othe ...
(ACN) was voted into power, Audu Ogbeh would develop Benue and would stem the rubbish inflicted by the PDP in the last four years.
In October 2014, Akaagerger was among the PDP elders of Benue North-East senatorial District who supported Governor Gabriel Suswam for the 2015 senatorial race.
In May 2015, Akaagerger was among leaders of the six states of the north central zone who pushed for the candidature of George Akume as Senate President.
See also
* List of governors of Katsina State
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akaagerger, Joseph
1956 births
Living people
Governors of Katsina State
People from Benue State
Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria)
Nigerian Army officers
United Nigeria People's Party politicians
Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
21st-century Nigerian politicians