THE Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, says the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, has been endorsed as the next Senate President of Nigeria.

Ganduje disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Cross Rivers governor, Ben Ayade, in Calabar.

According to him, the Senate Presidency has been zoned to the South-South geopolitical zone.

Ganduje did not explain if it was a decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership but he described the decision to nominate Akpabio as a done deal.

“The Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will come from the South-South and it is no other person than the former governor of Akwa Ibom.

“The uncommon governor, the uncommon minister who is going to be the uncommon Senate President. So we have resolved that.

“I am giving you assurance, we are waiting for the D-Day that he will be the Senate President of Nigeria,” Ganduje said.

Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had earlier recommended that the position of Senate President should be zoned to either South-East or South-South regions.

The governors, under the umbrella of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), recommended that the regions be considered in the zoning formula for the choice of the presiding and principal officers of the 10th National Assembly.

They recommended the zones for the consideration of the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu.

They also recommended that the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives should be zoned to either the North-West or the North-Central regions.

The governors also proposed that the position of Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader and Chief Whip should be used as compensation for those that may be asked to step down from running from the four presiding officers’ positions.

Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly will be inaugurated in the first week of June. Different interest groups nationwide are already lobbying for the positions of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Shortly after the inauguration, members of the Senate will elect new presiding officers.

Based on the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) retained the majority of the Senate and House of Representatives seats, with 57 and 162 members, respectively.