By Charles Adingupu
The senator representing Borno South Federal Constituency Ali Ndume, on Tuesday, dismissed insinuations in certain quarters that the former Minister of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Godswill Akpabio was an “anointed” candidate of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the seat of the Senate President.
Responding to a question on the Arise TV “The Morning Show,” Senator Ndume posited that the fact that Godswill Akpabio was endorsed by the All Progressives Congress National Working Committee, does not imply Akpabio is the “anointed” candidate of the party for Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.
The lawmaker who engaged the Arise TV Morning Show anchors in a semantic war, was reacting to the party’s choice of Akpabio as the leader of the 10th Assembly.
TheNewDiplomat had earlier reported that the APC nominated l Akpabio for Senate President, and Abbas Tajudeen for the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Ndume stated that Akpabio was only the preferred choice of the party which did not make him the automatic leader of the Senate, adding that senators would still have to vote to determine the leader of the red chamber.
“I don’t think anointed is the right word to use. The APC has Akpabio as its preferred candidate, that would be a better word.
“Not anointed but preferred candidate. Because if it is anointed then it is fait accompli, which is not the case. We have to go into the chamber and vote, and it can go anywhere.
Akpabio is going to be first among equals as president of the senate. It is going to take the remaining 108 of us to restore integrity to the Senate,” he said.
The party’s endorsement of Mr Akpabio as the Senate President doesn’t seem to have foreclosed the race for the Senate President as some members of the APC and the opposition parties are reportedly charting a different course.
