Akpabio Emerges Senate President As Abass Becomes Reps’ Speaker
Badru Ajayi
Godswill Akpabio has been elected the President of the Nigerian tenth Senate. Akpabio, who represents the good people of Akwa Ibom, defeated his only challenger, Senator Abdulazeez Yari of Zamfara State. The election was conducted by the Clerk of the National Assembly with Akpabio scoring 63 votes while Yari scored 46 votes. Senator Barau Jibrin was elected Deputy Senate President.He emerged unopposed.
Similarly, the House of Representative has also elected Tajudeen Abass as its Speaker. He defeated the former deputy Speaker, Idris Wase and Hon. Aminu Jaji. Abass polled 353 votes while Wase and Jaji polled 3 votes each. Hon. Benjamin Kalu from Abia State who was the Spokesman for the ninth House of Representative was elected the Deputy Speaker unopposed.
The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) had zoned the position of the Senate President to South South and further Micro-zoned it to Akpabio. Other contenders for the position such as Orji Uzor Kalu, Osita Izunaso and Abdulazeez Yari stuck to their guns. NigerianEcho learnt that it took the intervention of the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to get them backed down. However, Senator Yari refused to abide by the directive of the party.
