Akpabio becomes 10th Senate President

[p]Senator Godswill Akpabio, who represents Akwa Ibom North-West District, has emerged as the President of the 10th National Assembly. In a competitive race against Abdulaziz Yari, Senator Akpabio secured victory with the majority of votes from lawmakers, earning him the esteemed position of Senate President.

[p]The announcement of Senator Akpabio's win was made by the clerk of the National Assembly, Sani Tambawal Magaji, who revealed that Akpabio received 63 votes while his opponent garnered 46 votes.

[p]This historic victory makes Senator Akpabio the first South-Southerner to be elected as President of the Senate since Nigeria gained independence in 1960.

[p]During the recent general election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured the majority of seats in the National Assembly, with over 170 seats. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) followed with over 100 seats, while the Labour Party and the New Nigeria People's Party secured over 35 and 20 seats respectively.

[p]Numerous APC lawmakers expressed their desire to become the Speaker of the House or the Senate President, including Benjamin Kalu, Ahmed Wase, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Yusuf Gagdi, Aliyu Betara, Tajudeen Abbas, Abdulraheem Olawuyi, Sani Jaji, Princess Onuoha, Abdulaziz Yari, Orji Kalu, and Godswill Akpabio.

[p]However, the APC officially designated the Senate President position to the South-South region, represented by Senator Akpabio. The Deputy Senate President position was assigned to the North-West region, held by Barau Jibrin, while the Speaker position was allocated to the North-West region, occupied by Abass. The South-East region was granted the position of Deputy Speaker, to be filled by Kalu.

[p]Some APC hopefuls contested the party's decision and called for a review of the allocation formula, suggesting the inclusion of the North Central geopolitical zone and a redistribution of positions to avoid concentrating two positions in the North-West region.