Abubakar, Abdulrahman2024-04-252024-04-2520181996-4124https://uilspace.unilorin.edu.ng/handle/123456789/12917The enormous influence wielded by political godfathers especially in determining electoral outcomes in Nigerian politics is raising issue among practitioners, analysts and scholars. However. the consequence of the phenomenon is the patron-client relation been witnessed in the politics and governance of the country. This has made elected public officers to have more loyalty to the godfathers at the expense of being responsive to people's needs. It is against this backdrop that this paper attempts to examine how the leadership styles of godfathers influence the governance in the country. The paper uses Kwara and Oyo States under the control of Olusola Saraki and Lamidi Adedibu respectively as point of reference. Using qualitative method, the paper will establish the level of influence of the godfathers. the challenges facing the elected officials who came to power under their influence and underscore the threat which this phenomenon poses to good governance in Nigeria. It will make recommendations on how the issue can be addressed to the advantage of the citizensenElectionElectoral ViolenceMoney PoliticsGod-FstherismArticle