Breaking: Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio Elected Senate President of the 10th Assembly

Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, was declared Senate President of the 10th Assembly on June 13, 2023 after the house placed their nominations.

Akpabio, the All Progressives Congress's favoured candidate, was paired with his close associate, Jibrin Barau, the senator representing Kano South. 

The voting commenced with Akpabio and former Zamfara State Governor, Senator-elect Abdulazeez Yari battling for the presidency seat in the National Assembly.

After a brief break, Sani Tambuwal, the Clerk of the National Assembly, announced Akpabio the Senate President, after a leading with a wide margin of 63 votes to his rival who got 46.

In contrast to the declared election schedule of 10 am—the election began before 9am

Talks Before the Senate President Election

Before the commencement of the election, the Clerk of the National Assembly called for nominations—Ali Ndume, senator-elect for Borno South, proposed Godswill Akpabio, senator-elect for Akwa Ibom North-East, as President of the Senate. Akpabio accepted the nomination, while Elisha Abbo, senator-elect for Adamawa North, nominated Abdulaziz Yari, senator-elect for Zamfara West.

However, some Senators objected to Yari's inability to run for the seat as a first-time senator. After the lawmakers voted in alphabetical order, two representatives from each side arrived to count their votes.

Senator Adeola Solomon and Ndume came out to represent Senator Akpabio, while Abbo and the senator-elect for Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim, came out to represent Senator Yari.