Simon Davou Mwadkwon

Simon Davou Mwadkwon (born 25 July 1968) is a Nigerian politician and educationist who served as minority leader of the Nigerian Senate from July to October 2023.^[1] He was the senator representing Plateau North senatorial district from June 2023 until he was sacked by a controversial Appeal Court in October 2023. The ruling claimed that the state PDP lacked the required political structure to field candidates for elections so together with the entire state assembly PDP legislators and a number of federal legislators including one other PDP senator were forced to relinquish their seats to their runner-up candidates in the general elections.^[2][3][4]

In the aftermath of the 2011 national assembly elections that produced the 7th assembly legislators, Mwadkwon had to vacate his office as council chairman of Riyom Local Government to assume his seat as Member of the House of Representatives for Barkin Ladi/Riyom constituency.

Prior to his senatorial term he also served as a two-term Member of the House of Representatives in the 7th and 9th National Assemblies. He would have served two consecutive terms, but due to a rotational zoning accord between Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Governments, he hailing from Riyom had to step aside for Istifanus Gyang from Barkin Ladi in the 2015 National Assembly elections that produced the 8th National Assembly.

Following his emergency as the minority leader of the 10th senate, Mwadkwon in a discussion with journalists in Abuja clarified that contrary to speculations that he had betrayed his party, his emergence was born out of sheer benevolence of his colleagues in the senate minority.^[5]

On 3 February 2024, hours before the rerun election ordered by an appeal court, Mwadkwon and other top leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State decided to endorse the Action Democratic Party (ADP) candidate, Prince Pam Mwadkon Dachungyang, for the Plateau North senatorial district rerun after the exclusion of their party from the ballot became public information.^[6]

In 2012, Mwadkwon was at the scene of the Maase attacks that led to the demise of Senator Dantong but was later resuscitated. Years later, he survived a motor accident.

He is married to Diana Mwadkwon.