Senate: Akapabio emerges as President of the 10th Assembly

A former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, has been elected as the Senate President of the 10th Assembly.

Akpabio is the preferred candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

Senator-elect Abdulazeez Yari, the former governor of Zamfara State, and Akpabio were locked in a duel when voting for the new Senate President got underway.

Sani Tambuwal, the Clerk of the National Assembly, pronounced Akpabio to be the Senate President after a brief break. Akpabio received 63 votes, while his opponent received 46.

The election started earlier than 9 a.m. as opposed to the scheduled hour of 10 a.m.

Ali Ndume, the senator-elect for Borno South, nominated Godswill Akpabio, the senator-elect for Akwa Ibom North-East, as the next Senate president after the Clerk of the National Assembly called for nominations. Elisha Abbo, the senator-elect for Adamawa North, nominated Abdulaziz Yari, the senator-elect for Zamfara West, who was then nominated by Yari, and Akpabio accepted the nomination.

As Yari was a first-time senator, the senators objected to his being denied the opportunity to run for office.

Two members from each team arrived to count the votes after the legislators cast their ballots alphabetically.

Senators Adeola Solomon and Ndume appeared on stage to represent Senator Akpabio, while Abbo and Jimoh Ibrahim, the senator-elect for the Ondo South Senatorial District, appeared on stage to represent Senator Yari.