A member of the All Progressive Congress and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, has been elected as the Senate President of the 10th Assembly.
Akpabio, who is the preferred candidate of the rulling party, was paired with the senator representing Kano South, Jibrin Barau.
The for the new Senate President was contested with the former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator-elect Abdulazeez Yari, going toe to toe.
After a quick recess, Sani Tambuwal, the Clerk of the National Assembly, declared Akpabio as the Senate President having garnered 63 votes leaving his rival with 46 votes.
After the Clerk of the National Assembly called for nominations, the senator-elect for Borno South, Ali Ndume, nominated Godswill Akpabio, senator-elect for Akwa Ibom North-East, as President of the Senate. Akpabio accepted the nomination; while Elisha Abbo, senator-elect for Adamawa North, nominated Abdulaziz Yari, senator-elect for Zamfara West.
After the lawmakers cast their votes in alphabetical order, two representatives of each team came to count their votes.
Senators Adeola Solomon and Ndume came out to represent Senator Akpabio, while Abbo and the senator-elect representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim, represented Senator Yari.