10th National Assembly: Seven Senators Battle For Senate President Seat

Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June 2023, seven senators have indicated their interest in occupying the coveted Senate President position.

All things being equal, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is expected to produce the Senate President as the political party with the highest number of lawmakers in the 10th assembly.

So far, all the senators-elect that have indicated interest are from the APC.

Three of them – Barau Jibrin (Kano North, Northwest); Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North, Southeast) and David Umahi (Ebonyi South, Southeast), have made their interest in becoming the next Senate President public.

The 10th Senate is billed for inauguration on June 13 after the Proclamation of the 10th National Assembly by the President.

Other senators-elect eying the position are incumbent Senate President Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North, Northeast); Senate Services Committee Chairman, Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East, Northcentral); Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South, Northeast) and former Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom, Southsouth).

Some of the factors that may determine the emergence of the next Senate President include legislative experience and seniority.

Other factors that may come to play are religion and zoning, particularly as the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket which produced Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as President and Vice President-elect is still a major talking point in Nigeria’s politics.

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