The race for who becomes the Senate President for the 10th National Assembly (NASS) got intense on Tuesday morning as voting commenced at the Red Chamber in Abuja, Nigeria.
Voting began at exactly 8:45 a.m. on a state-by-state basis, alphabetically.
Voting ended at exactly 9:15 a.m.
The Senate is expected to make an official announcement on who becomes the next Senate President.
Nominations were received for Senator Abdul’aziz Yari and Senator Godswill Akpabio, after which the Clerk of the Senate declared the nominations closed in the absence of further nominations.
The contest is now between Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, and Akpabio, a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and ex-governor of Akwa Ibom State.
Akpabio and Yari are top-ranking chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The former Zamfara governor had before now protested the endorsement of the former minister by the party and asked that the endorsement be reviewed, but the APC did not shift ground. The party also anointed Barau Jibrin from the North-West for the office of Deputy Senate President.
Scores of APC senators in Yari’s camp had also rejected the party’s position and called for a review of the formula, arguing that the North-West gave the President the highest vote and therefore deserves to be compensated.
Some APC members had entreated Yari to drop his ambition to make it a smooth sail for Akpabio, but the former governor vowed to fight to the finish.
In the just-concluded elections, the ruling APC secured about 70 seats in the Red Chamber, the highest by any party, followed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
Many APC lawmakers had indicated interest in becoming the next Senate President, but some of the aspirants stepped down for either Akpabio or Yari, who are now in the race to become the next Senate President after Ahmad Lawan.
