Senate Presidency: Akpabio, Uzodinma meet Tinubu, hopeful of victory

The leading contender for the position of Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday, met with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

The meeting was also attended by Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, who the president appointed to lead a committee to resolve the leadership tussle for the position of senate president.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Akpabio said he was hopeful of victory as he enjoys the support of “over 90 per cent of people supporting the choice of the party.”

The former Akwa Ibom governor has been adopted by the ruling party, APC, as its candidate for the senate president’s seat in tomorrow’s election.

Also speaking after the meeting, Mr Uzodinma said he and other APC leaders hoped that Mr Akpabio would be adopted as the consensus candidate for the position of the senate president at tomorrow’s election venue in the Senate chambers, Abuja.

Although the APC, which has the majority in the Senate, has adopted Mr Akpabio as its candidate, at least two other senators from the party, Osita Izunaso and Abdulaziz Yari, have vowed to challenge Mr Akpabio for the position.

Consensus
Mr Uzodinma said there was a high probability that other aggrieved aspirants in the two chambers would step down before tomorrow’s election and support the consensus candidates of the APC.

The governor said he had made efforts to secure votes of many of the senators-elect for Mr Akpabio since his appointment as the chairperson of the committee that will produce Mr Akpabio as the next senate president.

“Well, substantially for a substitute consensus and by the number of people and by the efforts we have put in place, it is our hope that tomorrow it might even be a consensus event.

He said senators-elect from the opposition parties had also pledged their votes and support for Mr Akpabio.

“But to the glory of God we pray for that and at the same time, hoping that should we go into an election…..Akpabio’s acceptance as at today cuts across the political party we belong to. Other political parties there are also some same minds who are interested in the development and progress of Nigeria who also understand the need to safeguard democracy as being practiced in Nigeria today. And they are in sync with our preferred candidate.

“Akpabio is going there to create a win-win situation for members of the parliament. He is not going there to be a dictator. He is going there to work with his colleagues. He is going there to work in synergy, collectively they will reason, collectively they will plan, collectively they will deliver the dividends of democracy to the Nigerian people.”

Mr Uzodinma stressed that Mr Akpabio possessed all the qualities of a good leader to lead the 10th Senate.

“It is about Nigeria and not about the individuals. And he is a man too that has the track record of performance.

“Recall his performance as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and when he came during the 8th Senate. Even as a first time senator, he emerged as the minority leader of the senate. That is a show of confidence by his colleagues. And I think that he will do what he knows how to do better this time around,” he said.

Technical committee
Mr Uzodinma stressed that the committee, which he heads, has done a lot of work in preparing the APC for the election and that it would ensure that the process is free and fair.

“You must have heard, the president in his wisdom organised a small technical committee to help coordinate the process of tomorrow’s election, which by my position of the chair of the Progressive Governors Forum, I am chairing that technical committee,” he said.

“We have done so much work to the extent that God has blessed our efforts that the majority of the senators-elect are now in sync with the position of the party.”

“After the event in which you all witnessed, we had a closed session with the president because what is at stake is national interest, the interest of our country and how to ensure that the new president is supported to succeed.

“All over Africa, Nigeria is being looked upon that this time around we should produce a very strong president who will be bold and courageous in character. Who will be able to deliver Nigeria to our usual space of being the leader of the continent.

“So, we don’t want to allow for any domestic distraction to distract him from succeeding. So, we are going to pledge our support, work in synergy with our senators elect to ensure that the election of tomorrow will be free and fair.”

All 109 senators-elect are expected to participate in the election of the new leadership of the upper chamber.

Of the number, 59 are members of the ruling APC, while the remaining 50 belong to the six opposition parties, namely PDP, LP, NNPP, YPP, APGA and SDP.
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