Akwa Ibom Governor Eno,  Congratulates Newly Elected Senate President, Godswill Akpabio,

…Pledges to work together for the advancement of the State.

 

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has congratulated Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON, on his emergence as the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.

In a statement released by his Chief Press Secretary, Ekerete Udoh, Governor Eno, said “on behalf of the Government and the good people of Akwa Ibom State, I send you our hearty congratulations on your emergence as the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.

“The process was free, fair and transparent and is a testament to the deepening of our democratic traditions and ethos. I have always said that politics is over and it’s time for governance, and that, demands we work across party lines to advance the cause of our development.

“We stand ready to work collaboratively with you, to move the needle of development, growth and progress of our dear State in particular and the Nation in general.

“Once again, congratulations and God’s speed”!

The former Akwa Ibom governor Senator Godswill Akpabio has been  sworn as President of the 10th Senate after scoring 63 votes defeating Senator Abdul’aziz Yari who scored 46 votes.

Earlier, voting commenced at the Red Chamber in Abuja, Nigeria.

Voting begun at exactly 08:45am on Tuesday on a state by state basis, alphabetically.

Voting ended at exactly 09:15am.

Akpabio was sworn in at exactly 09:44am.

Nominations were received for Senator Abdul’aziz Yari and Senator Godswill Akpabio after which the Clerk of the Senate declared nominations closed in absence of further nominations.

The contest was  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 succeeded Ahmad Lawan as Senate President.

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 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 the 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 to emerge the next Senate President but some of the aspirants stepped down for either Akpabio or Yari