Abbo nominated Senator Yari for the position of Senate President while Akpabio was endorsed by Senator Ali Ndume
By Kehinde Okeowo
A mild drama preceded the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President of the upper chamber of the 10th National Assembly on Tuesday.
It all began when the clerk of the National Assembly, Sani Tambuwal commenced the proceedings for the election of the presiding officers of the senate after a bit of rowdiness.
When senators eventually settled, Senator Godswill Akpabio from Akwa Ibom North West was nominated for the post of Senate President by Senator Ali Ndume while Senator Elisha Abbo endorsed Senator Abdulaziz Yari, who is representing Zamfara North West.
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However, even though the two senators nominated for the office of the number three citizen are from the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abbo’s decision did not sit well with some APC senators.
As soon as he nominated Yari, they kicked against it and started protesting but Abbo who is representing Adamawa North in the red chamber stood his ground.
Shouting at the top of his voice, the senator challenged those opposed to Yari’s nomination to go to court.
After the little rancor subsided, voting commenced with Senator Akpabio eventually defeating Senator Yari to become the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.
Before this development, APC had endorsed Senator Akpabio for the position of Senate President and Senator Jibrin Barau as his deputy.
The party also endorsed Hon. Tajudeen Abbas as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Hon Benjamin Kalu as his deputy.
However, some elected APC legislators opposed the zoning arrangement, opting to contest for the positions despite the position of their party.
While Abdulaziz Yari decided to contest the position of the Senate President, former Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase opted to vie for the post of Speaker.