The lawmaker representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, Godswill Obot Akpabio, has emerged as the President of the Ninth Senate.
The former Akwa Ibom Governor polled 63 votes to defeat his rival for the seat, Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari representing Zamfara West Senatorial District, who polled 46 votes in the election for Presiding Officers of the Ninth Senate held on Tuesday, 13th June 2023, at the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.
Voting for the position had begun at 08:45 am with Senators-Elect called out according to their state in alphabetical order casting their ballots in a open-secret ballot format which ended at about 9:15 am.
Akpabio, who is also a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs under the immediate past administration of Muhamammadu Buhari, was nominated by Senator Ali Ndume, (APC, Borno South), who presented his detailed biography. Senator-Elect Abdul Aziz Yari, on the other hand, was nominated by Senator Ishaku Abbo (APC, Adamawa North)
In the build-up to the leadership contest of the Tenth National Assembly, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), had announced his preference for Senator Akpabio after the party’s leadership and stakeholders, including then President-Elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, announced that the seat is zoned to his South-South geo-political zone.
