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The following is an archived discussion of a featured list nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured list candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The list was promoted by PresN via FACBot (talk) 00:25, 11 June 2025 (UTC) [1].[reply]

List of governors of Bayelsa State

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List of governors of Bayelsa State (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

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Nominator(s): Vanderwaalforces (talk) 15:05, 7 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What is now know as Bayelsa was previous Rivers, and was also previously Eastern Region. This list covers the governors that rule(d)/(s) this state of Nigeria till date. I think it passes the FL criteria, but I need feedback from my FLC regulars, comments and contributions are greatly appreciated :) Vanderwaalforces (talk) 15:05, 7 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

History6042

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Support from Toadspike

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Can't promise a full review, because I'm gonna be on on-and-off wikibreaks for a while, but the citation placement in the tables is odd. The "Notes" column is empty in both tables, so I'm not sure why it exists. Normally citations would go in that column, especially with rows that only cite one source like Alfred Diete-Spiff. OTOH, I can see the utility of having refs right after the content they cover when there are several backing up different parts of the row. I am ambivalent on this but would like to hear the nominator's thoughts, and if they decide not to use the Notes column then it should be removed. Toadspike [Talk] 18:59, 8 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Toadspike Thanks for looking. This is good idea; I never thought of that. But how do I handle other entries that have several sources, each supporting their equivalent claim? Please let me know what you think, otherwise I think it’s safe to say the Notes column should go out? Vanderwaalforces (talk) 19:04, 8 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Toadspike I just removed the notes column now. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 19:50, 8 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. If you wanted to, you could put refs in their own column, like at List of cabinets of Liechtenstein. This would separate them from the exact content they're citing, though, so I think the current format is better. Toadspike [Talk] 19:30, 9 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Toadspike Okay, thank you for looking into this :) Vanderwaalforces (talk) 21:52, 9 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I've gone through my suggestions below and everything looks good now – I support this FLC on prose quality. Toadspike [Talk] 07:03, 13 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Lead
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  • The first sentence is very vague. We are talking about a list of administrators here, so I think it should be more like: "Bayelsa State, located in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, has been led by colonial, military, and civilian administrations." I am open to other wording, but it should emphasize that we are listing the administrations rather than discussing the political transformations.
    • done.
  • "British officials governed the region until Nigeria’s first military coup in 1966" – I am not super familiar with the history of Nigeria, but I was under the impression that there were a few years between independence and military rule where presumably Bayelsa was not governed by British officials.
    • fixed.
  • Footnote a, describing the region system, should be moved one sentence earlier, when the regions are first mentioned.
    • done.
  • It's not clear whether Gowon was military leader of Nigeria or just Bayelsa – it would be nice if you could find a way to specify this in the lead.
    • fixed.
  • "However, the Nigerian military government under Sani Abacha..." – "However" is not necessary. If you wish to retain a transition for smoother reading, I suggest moving the date to the start of the sentence: "In 1996, the Nigerian military government under Sani Abacha created Bayelsa State by carving it out of Rivers State."
    • done.
  • "when Diepreye Alamieyeseigha became the first democratically elected governor" – as with Gowon, it is not entirely clear what he's governing. I suggest specifying "governor of Bayelsa".
    • done.
  • A reminder that you are not required to fill out every possible field in the infobox. I think "Reports to", "Appointer", and "Constituting instrument" may not be quite correct and suggest removing them or switching to other parameters, but I am not the most informed on Nigerian politics so please clarify if I've got things wrong:
    • In most federal systems, state governors do not "report to" the head of state – they are fairly independent. For instance, I don't think the President of Nigeria can fire the Governor of Bayelsa. I think this field should be removed
      • done.
    • An "appointer" is usually a person who appoints, not the method by which the appointee is chosen. Seeing "popular vote" placed in this field is really weird. I admit that there is no better field to put "popular vote", which could be seen as an important fact. I suggest leaving it out.
      • done.
    • Is the post of governor of Bayelsa really defined in the constitution of Nigeria? Does the state not have its own constitution?
      • yes, it is defined in the constitution of Nigeria as I cited. It is defined as a governor of any Nigerian state, and not specifically Bayelsa.
Eastern Region
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  • "now constitutes Rivers State" – though technically also correct, I think this should say "Bayelsa State".
    • Fixed, this was definitely a copy-paste error, lol.
  • "while Michael Okpara served as its second premier" – the distinction between "premier" and "governor" is not spelled out. Was the premier the deputy to the governor in the First Nigerian Republic?
    • I defined both roles now.
  • It is stated in the lead and in this section that the regional system was abolished, but clearly the Eastern Region still existed and had a governor afterwards. This is confusing and should be clarified.
    • I clarified this one too now.
Rivers State
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  • After describing the division of the Eastern Region by Gowon in both the lead and this section, it needs to be explicitly stated that Bayelsa became a part of Rivers State. In the lead, "remained part of" gives the sense that the reader has missed the point where Bayelsa became part of Rivers State. In this section it's not specified at all.
  • "thus share the same party" should probably be past tense, "shared". Even if it is still true today, I assume it was not true for the subsequent periods of military rule.
    • done.
  • "...and successive military administrators until another brief civilian transition..." – I suggest putting a period somewhere in there and splitting this into two sentences.
    • done.
Bayelsa State
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  • "Upon its creation, Bayelsa State was placed under military administration" – I would argue it wasn't placed under military administration, but already was under military administration. Suggest: "At its creation, Phillip Ayeni was made the first military administrator of Bayelsa State from October 1996 to February 1997."
  • "Under the Fourth Republic" is a very abrupt switch with little context – I suggest explaining the transition to the Fourth Republic at least briefly and explicitly stating the date when it began. Perhaps add a paragraph break before this sentence.
  • It might be interesting to state why Sylva's election was nullified. It would also be interesting to state what post Seibarugo had that qualified him to serve as acting governor.
  • "...before the installation of an elected replacement. Henry Seriake Dickson, also of the PDP, was elected governor..." – These sentences are worded in a way that doesn't make it clear that Dickson was the replacement in question; it sounds as if we've started talking about someone completely different.
  • "after the annulment of the election" – This part is confusing. Normally, I'd assume that if an election is annulled, it has to be re-run, but based on the source they simply eliminated the winner and chose Diri instead. I can't find a better wording, though, that doesn't require explaining what happened and naming David Lyon. Do you have a solution?

Comments by Alavense

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  • Subsequent governors included Timipre Sylva, Henry Seriake Dickson, and the incumbent governor, Douye Diri - It's obvious that it's the incumbent governor, I think it would suffice to say Subsequent governors included Timipre Sylva, Henry Seriake Dickson, and the incumbent, Douye Diri
  • After independence, Francis Akanu Ibiam (1960–1966) became the first Nigerian governor of the Eastern Region, while Michael Okpara served as its second premier (1960–1966) succeeding Nnamdi Azikiwe - I don't know what Nnamdi Azikiwe's part is in all this.
  • The Governor was a ceremonial role that represented the British monarchy until Nigeria became a republic in 1963. The Premier was responsible for the region's executive functions - Do those roles have to be capitalized? According to MOS, titles should be lower case in generic use. The same goes for President of Nigeria in the lede and president in Bayelsa State section.
  • At its creation, Phillip Ayeni was made the first military administrator of Bayelsa State from October 1996 to February 1997 - I don't think he was actually made for that period, so I believe something like At its creation, Phillip Ayeni was made the first military administrator of Bayelsa State in October 1996, a position he held until (or whichever wording you prefer) would be better.
  • The Fourth Republic is linked twice.
  • However, his tenure was terminated when the Supreme Court ruled against the extension of his tenure - Avoid repeating tenure.
  • In the table, is upper case necessary for Military Administrators, Executive Governors and Military Administrator?
  • For the map, don't use pixels, but a scaling factor - see MOS:IMGSIZE.

That's what I saw. Kind regards, Alavense (talk) 12:55, 26 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Alavense Thanks for looking and commenting. I have attended to your recommendations. The Governor and Premier are capitalised because they're referring to specific people. Thanks again. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 11:44, 2 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the edits, Vanderwaalforces. There's still one pending: After independence, Francis Akanu Ibiam (1960–1966) became the first Nigerian governor of the Eastern Region, while Michael Okpara served as its second premier (1960–1966) succeeding Nnamdi Azikiwe - I don't know what Nnamdi Azikiwe's part is in all this, as it's the first time he's mentioned. Kind regards, Alavense (talk) 12:57, 2 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Alavense If Okpara served as second premier, succeeding Azikiwe, does it not mean Azikiwe was the first? Did you read it from this perspective? I think it is pretty clear, but please you can suggest a better way that can be written. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 15:48, 2 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I don't really understand why we get to know earlier about the second premier than about the first. Alavense (talk) 16:20, 2 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Alavense should I remove his name entirely? Nnamdi Azikiwe actually does not make sense to be mentioned originally based on the chronology of the events. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 16:05, 3 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Your decision, Vanderwaalforces, of course. I just pointed out because it confused me when I read it. Alavense (talk) 16:57, 3 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Alavense okay, done! Vanderwaalforces (talk) 17:00, 3 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Alavense (talk) 17:03, 3 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Source review by LEvalyn - pass

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  • For a spot check, I randomly sampled 15% of the sources. Notes below:
    • Falola & Genova 2009, p. 103: I'm only able to access the 2000 and 2018 editions of this book, not the 2009 edition. The three citations to this page aren't supported by the entries I see for "Bayelsa State" on p 109 of 2018 and p 100 of 200, but the information is supported by the entry for "Eastern Region" on p 171-2 of 2018 and 178-9 of 2000. Please double check the page number here.
    • 9, 10, 16, 18, 34, and 50 all check out, no notes.
    • For 32, I boldly made some minor polishing edits.
  • Also, Who's Who in Nigeria is a book, not "news", even though it's published by Newswatch-- it needs the book citation template.
  • Overall, I don't see any red flags in the source list -- all appropriate RS.
  • Not related to sourcing: I find the flow of events in This followed the death of Sani Abacha... to be a bit confusing. I don't see a good reason to be jumping back and forth in time like this -- can we put these events in chronological order? First Abacha suppressed opponents, then he died, then his successor had a transition programme, then the Fourth Republic begins.
  • Once you've had a chance to address Falola & Genova 2009 I think you're looking good on sources. ~ L 🌸 (talk) 04:21, 2 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    @LEvalyn Thank you so much! I could not grasp the Falola and Geneva 2009, p. 103 feedback. What exactly is not supporting what, please? All other comments have been addressed, thanks again. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 16:08, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah, that one is a little complicated because I'm partly guessing about the page numbers of the edition you actually had. Based on the page number cited (103) I’m assuming the citation is to this encyclopedia’s entry for "Bayelsa State". However, based on the versions I can see, the "Bayelsa State" entry doesn’t support any of the info it’s cited for. A different entry, "Eastern Region", does support all the relevant info, so I’m assuming the page numbers are a mistake and you meant to cite that entry instead. You just need to double check your copy of Falola & Genova and update the cite with the right page number. Let me know if that explanation hasn’t clarified. ~ L 🌸 (talk) 19:12, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Please, what are the page numbers from your end? I did a fix to the misplacement though, but still didn't grasp the whole thing. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 20:08, 5 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I found the 2009 edition online here and it looks like everything is actually fine! I assumed that the 2009 edition would have very similar page numbers to the 2000 and 2018 editions, but that assumption was wrong. Because a highly related entry (on "Bayelsa State") was near p 103 in the editions I could see, and the "Eastern Region" entry was not near p 103 in those editions, I was just guessing that there might have been a mix-up in which entry was cited. But it looks the answer to my question was actually, the "Eastern Region" entry is on p 103 of Falola & Genova 2009 and double-checking shows there is bo problem. Sorry for the confusion! I suggest adding the Internet Archive link to the 2009 edition, but I am now happy to support on the sources. ~ L 🌸 (talk) 22:36, 6 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Ah, thank you so much, LEvalyn. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 11:03, 7 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Image review – All of the photos used in the article have appropriate free licensing. While not strictly mandatory, it would be nice to see alt text added for greater accessibility. Only the flag image has it from what I can see. Giants2008 (Talk) 21:17, 10 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Promoting, though please do add alt text. --PresN 21:35, 10 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

  • Closing note: This candidate has been promoted, but there may be a delay in bot processing of the close. Please see WP:FLC/ar, and leave the {{featured list candidates}} template in place on the talk page until the bot goes through.
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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