By Samuel Malik
Former governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki, has been elected President of the 8th Senate, defeating his rival and the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, APC’s, preferred candidate, Ahmed Lawan.
Saraki, who has since been sworn into office, was nominated by Sani Yerima, a former governor of Zamfara State, and seconded by Dino Melaye.
In a surprise twist, the minority, but powerful Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, produced the Deputy Senate President, with Ike Ekweremadu, the immediate past deputy senate president, voted for another tenure. Ekweremadu was nominated by Abiye Sekibo from Rivers State.
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The PDP had on Monday released a statement backing the candidacy of Saraki, a move conceived to counter the APC’s adoption of Lawan, and it is believed that part of the deal would see the PDP produce his deputy.
In a clever move to catch the APC off-guard, the Senate, with majority of senators present on the platform of the PDP – 51 APC senators-elect were in a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the International Conference Centre to find a way out of the logjam – went ahead with the task of electing its leaders, a move that saw Saraki emerge unopposed.