Meet The 11 Men That Have Governed Delta State

Delta State is a Nigerian state located in the country’s South-South geopolitical zone. The state was founded on August 27, 1991, from the former Bendel State. It was named after the Niger Delta, which covers a substantial portion of the state. It is bordered on the north by Edo State, on the east by Anambra and Rivers states, and on the south by Bayelsa State, with the Bight of Benin covering approximately 160 kilometers of the state’s coastline.

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The state was initially created with 12 local government areas in 1991 which was later extended to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. The state capital, Asaba, is located on the northeastern bank of the Niger River, while Warri, on the southern shore, serves as the state’s economic hub. This is a list of the military administrators and civilian governors of Delta State since it was founded on August 27, 1991.  

Luke Chijiuba Ochulor (28 August 1991 – 2 January 1992)

Air Commodore (retired) Luke Chijiuba Ochulor served as the first Military Administrator of Delta State, Nigeria. He was appointed in August 1991, when the state was formed from a part of Bendel State during General Ibrahim Babangida’s military regime. In January 1992, at the start of Nigeria’s Third Republic, he handed over to the first elected civilian governor of Delta State.  

Felix Ibru (2 January 1992 – 17 November 1993)

Felix Ovudoroye Ibru was the first democratically elected Governor of Delta State in Nigeria. Ibru began his political career in 1983, when he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Senate . In 1991, he ran for governor of Delta State, and in 1992, he became the first executive governor of the newly formed Delta State. He was later elected senator for Delta Central in 2003. Felix Ibru died on 12 March 2016 at the age of 80.  

Abdulkadir Shehu (17 November 1993 – 10 December 1993)

Alhaji Abdulkadir Shehu, a Commissioner of Police i Delta State, became Delta State’s acting Administrator. He stepped in after the elected governor, Felix Ibru, was ousted. Between November and December 1993, he served in that role, immediately after General Sani Abacha seized power from the civilian government. Shehu held the position until Colonel Bassey Asuquo was appointed administrator.    

Bassey Asuquo (10 December 1993 – 26 September 1994)

Bassey Asuquo served as Military Administrator of Delta State between December 1993 and September 1994. He later served as military administrator for Edo State from September 1994 to December 1996, during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. He retired as a brigadier general.  

Ibrahim Kefas (26 September 1994 – 22 August 1996)

Group Captain Ibrahim Kefas was appointed as military administrator of Delta State during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. He served in that position from 26 September 1994 until August 1996. Prior to then, he had served as the military administrator of Cross River State between December 1993 and September 1994. Kefas, who retired as an Air Commodore, died in the early hours of 1 October 2021, in a hospital in Abuja.  

John Dungs (22 August 1996 – 12 August 1998)

Colonel John David Dungs (Rtd)) served as Military Administrator of Delta State from August 1996 until August 1998 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. He had also served as acting Military Administrator of Oyo State from 1994 to 1996. Dungs died on 2 May 2014 en route to a hospital after collapsing at his residence in Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State.  

Walter Feghabo  (12 August 1998 – 29 May 1999)

Navy Commander (retired) Walter Feghabo was appointed military administrator of Delta State in August 1998 during the transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar. He handing over to the elected civilian governor James Ibori on 29 May 1999. In June 1999, all former military administrators in the Abacha and Abubakar regimes were retired by the Federal Government, including Walter Feghabo.  

James Ibori (29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007)

From May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007, James Onanefe Ibori served as Governor of Delta State. In 2012, Ibori was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to 13 years in prison. After a court order, James Ibori was released from prison in December 2016. He served four years of the thirteen years he was sentence to. He is now a national personality and a leader in the Niger Delta region. Governors Of Delta State  

Emmanuel Uduaghan (29 May 2007 – 29 May 2015)

From 2007 to 2015, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan served as Governor of Delta State. Uduaghan, a medical doctor, was the Commissioner for Health in Delta State and the Secretary to the State Government before becoming governor. He was elected in an inconclusive election on May 29, 2007. Dr. Uduaghan campaigned for governor again on April 26, 2011, and was re-elected. Governors Of Delta State  

Ifeanyi Okowa (29 May 2015 – Date)

After winning the Delta state elections in April 2015, Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa was sworn in as governor on May 29, 2015. Prior to becoming governor, he was elected senator for Delta North Senatorial District in Delta State in the April 2011 national elections. He is also the first person from Anioma to be elected as the governor of Delta State. On May 29, 2019, he was re-elected governor of Delta State. He ran on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

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