TUE, JUNE 13 2023-theGBJournal | Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Barau I. Jibrin have been elected the President and the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate respectively.
Akpabio, (South-South) defeated fellow Senator Abdulazeez Yari 63-46 votes to win the much coveted position after weeks of intense political lobbying.
Akpabio won across the political divide, earning votes from opposition parties as well as his own party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He took the OATH of Office shortly after to become the 10th Senate President, flanked by Senator Olamilekan Adeola, Senator Ali Ndume and the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Akpabio came into limelight in 2002 when he was appointed a commissioner in his home state, Akwa Ibom State. In 2007 he became the State Governor and served until 2015 before contesting and winning a Senate seat in 2015 at the end of his tenure as Governor.
He became Senate Minority Leader (2015-2018) and in 2019 he was appointed Minister of Niger Delta Affairs by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
His emergence today as the Senate President underscored the overwhelming support he received from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who expressed openly his desire to see Akpabio emerge as the next President of the Senate.
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