Jeremiah Timbut Useni (16 February 1943 – 23 January 2025) was a Nigerian army

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

, who served as minister responsible for the administration of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja under the

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

military junta. He served Nigeria in various capacities such as Minister for Transport and Quarter-Master General of the Nigeria Army. Useni also served as Deputy Chairman of one of the significant parties in Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party. He was elected Senator for the Plateau South constituency of Plateau State, Nigeria in the March 2015 national elections. Useni was running on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform.

Background

Useni was born in

Langtang Langtang Valley () also known as Lamtang Valley is a Himalayan valley in the mountains of north-central Nepal, known for its trekking routes and natural environment. Administrative The Langtang Valley lies in Rasuwa District, Rasuwa dist ...

, Northern Region, British Nigeria on 16 February 1943. He died on 23 January 2025, at the age of 81.

Military service

Useni came to national limelight in Nigeria when he was appointed Military Governor of Nigeria's defunct

Bendel State The Mid-Western Region was a division of Nigeria from 1963 to 1991, from 1976 being known as the Bendel state. It was formed in June 1963 from Benin and Delta provinces of the Western Region, and its capital was Benin City. It was renamed a pro ...

in January 1984. In 1998, Useni then minister for the capital territory of Abuja, was rumored as a successor to General

. Useni stated that the decision to appoint Abdulsalami Abubakar instead was based on protocol. Ten years later, Useni insisted Abacha died a natural death, contrary to rumors that he died after eating a poisoned apple. Speaking in April 2008, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Aliyu Modibbo Umar, blamed problems with the

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

Master Plan on the administration of Useni as a minister under the Abacha military government.

Political career

In August 2001, he was appointed head of a delegation from the Arewa Consultative Forum to meet and discuss common goals with Northern state governors and other leaders. In 2003, he was Deputy National Chairman, North for the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). In November 2004, he was locked in an internal ANPP struggle with Chief Donald Etiebet, the National Chairman. In May 2006, he left the ANPP to become chairman of a new party, the Democratic People's Party, taking with him other members of the progressive wing of the ANPP. However, he was suspended indefinitely in December 2008, for saying the death of

Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerians, Nigerian writer, teacher, television producer, and social rights activist. Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland ...

was a national sacrifice. He was succeeded by Biodun Ogunbiyi, who criticized Useni's poor leadership, resulting in failure to win any seats in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the April 2007 elections. Useni ran for election as Senator for Plateau South in April 2011 on the DPP platform, but was defeated by Victor Lar of the PDP. He later on ran for election as Senator for Plateau South In 2015 under the People's Democratic Party which he won.

Governorship run

In October 2018, Jeremiah Useni won the party primaries in the PDP to run for Office Of The Governor Of Plateau state under the platform of the People's Democratic Party. He lost in the general election to incumbent Simon Lalong who polled 595, 582 votes to Useni's 546, 813. Useni challenged the election of Simon Lalong at the plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on the grounds that Lalong was ineligible to assume the position of Governor, having submitted a different certificate to the electoral umpire (INEC) bearing different name to that of the present Governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong. The panel of three justices Tribunal led by Justice Halima Salami struck out Useni's petition affirming the election of Lalong for lack of substantial evidence to prove the discrepancy of names in the certificate Lalong submitted to INEC. Useni appealed the judgement of the tribunal at both Appeal Court and the Supreme Court but lost. The disappointing judgment from the courts ended his 2019 ambition to rule Plateau State.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Useni, Jeremiah 1943 births 2025 deaths All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Democratic People's Party (Nigeria) politicians Governors of Bendel State Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria) Federal ministers of Nigeria Nigerian Military School alumni Senators of the 8th National Assembly (Nigeria) Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Politicians from Plateau State Tarok people