Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly in June, some senators-elect have begun lobbying for the presidency of the upper chamber.
Aspirants for the top Senate and House of Representatives positions are expected to start declaring interest in their choice positions once the National Assembly resumes from election break on March 14.
Apart from the senate presidency, other positions that will be filled include the speaker of the House of Representatives and deputy senate president as well as the principal offices.
The principal officers are leaders of the majority and minority caucuses, which are largely based on membership configuration in a chamber.
They include the majority leader, deputy majority leader, majority or chief whip, the deputy whip, minority leader, deputy minority leader, minority whip and deputy minority whip. These 10 men and women steer the affairs of each of the Senate and the House.
According to the parliamentary tradition, ranking members – lawmakers serving two or more terms form the leadership of the parliament.
The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja on Saturday that the Senators-elect would receive their certificates of return on Tuesday, while their House of Representatives counterparts would get theirs on Wednesday.
So far, according to the INEC chair, the All Progressives Congress won 57 senatorial seats, the Peoples Democratic Party won 29, the Labour Party got six, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party and Social Democratic Party got two each.
On the other hand, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Young Progressive Party got one seat each.
In the House of Representatives, the APC garnered 162 from the 360 seats, PDP got 102, LP, 34 seats, NNPP 18, APGA four, SDP and ADC got two each, while YPP won one seat.
Findings by The PUNCH indicated that lobbying for the principal offices had begun in earnest with the parties and the senators-elect working to prevent a repeat of the 2015 experience where Senator Bukola Saraki was elected as the Senate president.
A majority of the APC senators, including the party’s preferred candidate, Ahmed Lawan were at a meeting with the APC leadership and the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) when Saraki was elected unanimously by the 57 senators present at the session.
Notable individuals who have shown interest in being president of the 10th Senate include Senators-elect Ali Ndume (Borno South), Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Orji Uzoh Kalu (Abia), Jibrin Barau (Kano) and Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger), among others.
