Bukola Saraki sworn-in as senate president with PDP's Ekweremadu elected his deputy

FORMER Kwara State governor Bukola Saraki has been sworn-in as Nigeria's senate president with Senator Ike Ekweremadu his deputy after a dramatic morning during which jostling and horse-trading tore the National Assembly into two rival factions.

 

Today started off very tense with the National Assembly complex sealed off by security men ahead of the impending election of its principal officers as the battle for senate president and House of Representatives speaker heated up. With the race to decide who heads both houses uncertain and the subject of a lot of infighting, men of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were drafted in to seal the complex.

 

It had been expected that the elections would be postponed as President Muhammadu Buhari who returned from the G7 meeting in Germany last night was to meet with the National Assembly members of his All Progressives Congress (APC) this morning to salvage the already situation. At a party gathering of senators and members of the House of Representatives over the weekend, Senator Ahmed Lawan of Yobe North was nominated for the position of senate president with Senator George Akume of Benue North West as his deputy.

 

In the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, representing Surulele I Constituency in Lagos State was nominated for the position of speaker with Hon Mohammed Monguno, representing Monguno/Nganzai/Marte Constituency in Borno State as his deputy.   However, their rivals Senator Bukola Saraki from Kwara State who is standing for senate president and Hon Yakubu Dogara, running for speakership, have refused to accept the results of the mock election.

 

In defiance of the party, senator Saraki apparently stood for the senate president and was elected unopposed by 57 of 108 senators present, with 51 senators, including Senator Ahmed Lawan, absent. Apparently, the other senators were at the nearby International Conference Centre, meeting with President Buhari to resolve the crisis.

 

Senator Saraki was nominated by Senator Sani Yerima of Zamfara State and seconded by Senator Dino Melaye of Kogi State. He was immediately sworn-in, and the battle for deputy senate president commenced, involving immediate past deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and the APC's Senator Ali Ndume from Borno State.

 

In those elections, Senator Ekweremadu defeated Senator Mohammed Ndume, scoring 54 votes against Senator Ndume’s 20 votes. There is now a battle on in the House of Representatives to determine who becomes speaker but Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu have already been sworn-in by the clerk of the senate.