Senate Presidency: Defiant Yari battles Akpabio as voting commences

The stage is set and the political combatants look good for a leadership battle that will herald the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly to compliment the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government.

While the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was able to do some mend fencing and horse-trading at the House of Representatives, same could not be achieved in the Senate where it appears a straight contest between the anointed candidate of the APC for the Senate Presidency, Senator Godswill Akpabio and former Zamfara state Governor Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari, who at the time of this report, resisted every move to see him back down for the party’s favoured choice.

At the Green Chamber, the Presidency prevailed on Mukhtar Betara (Borno) and Mohammed Gagdi (Plateau) to step down for the APC’s preferred candidate for the speakership position, Tajudeen Abbas.

But all efforts to also get Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase to tow the party line did not yield the desired result as at the time of this report.

READ ALSO: Senate Presidency: Akpabio widely accepted across party lines –Uzodinma

For Yari, the last man standing in the opposition to the party’s choice, it has been a consistent fight which saw him obtaining a court injunction restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related  Offences  Commission(ICPC) from arresting him ahead of today’s inauguration.

Further to this, the former governor, who remained deviant, stayed away from the meeting of lawmakers-elect called by President Tinubu last Thursday, a development that further showed he was not ready to abandon his ambition to head the 10th Senate.

The former House of Representatives member will, however, have to contend with the support and backing the Presidency and the governors will give Akpabio.

In a related development, the former and serving federal lawmakers supporting Akpabio’s  aspiration for  Senate Presidency  made a final push Monday by  calling on Senators-elect  to vote for him during the inaugural session.

The group, under the aegis of  Leadership Council of The  INITIATIVES (an agenda setting college of Former and Serving NASS members), made the push at a press conference  held at the FCT Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Abuja.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Dean of the Faculty, Hon Eseme Eyibo, said, with Akpabio as Senate President, the Tinubu administration would deliver on its campaign promises.

READ ALSO: Wike visits Tinubu at State House second time in 72 hours, goes with Akpabio, Umahi

He said: “What is going on in the National Assembly is very democratic. It has given credence to the fact that the current administration is operating on the platform of democracy.

“When the president called the senators-elect and members of the House of Representatives-elect, it was to simply appeal to all of them and they saw reason

But in the midst of all this, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has cautioned Tinubu, urging him to respect the principle of separation of powers and allow the 10th National Assembly members to elect their leaders.

NEF Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed expressed the concerns during a news briefing in response to a statement made by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

It claimed Vice President Shettima was reported to have said the most incompetent Southern Christian is better than the most puritanical Northern Muslim as Senate President.

In a statement issued Monday by the Director of Information in the Office of the Vice President, Abiola Sola, the VP said his support for Akpabio was not to look down on anybody or a section of the country, but to underline the importance of diversity and justice.

It further said the VP’s statement was “stripped of context and mischievously circulated as an attempt to minimize the suitability of Muslim contestants in the race for the Senate leadership.”