APC wins 64 seats in Senate

The result of the National Assembly election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday has pushed the opposition All Progressives Congress to the majority status in the 109 membership Senate.

Before the election, the Peoples Democratic Party enjoyed the majority status in the red chamber with 64 members while the APC has 41. Other parties, like the Labour Party, the Accord Party and the Social Democratic Party, shared the remaining five seats.

The APC will now have 64 senators; the PDP, 45; and the Labour Party, one.

The development, our correspondent observed, will obviously alter the configuration of the Senate leadership in the 8th Senate which would be inaugurated in June this year, because the opposition APC which is currently in the minority, would constitute the principal officers.

For instance, the current Senate President, David Mark who is returning to the Senate for the fifth time, will lose his seat to an APC member while the change in gear will also affect other principal officers like the Deputy Senate President, Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip; and Deputy Chief Whip.

Apart from Mark and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu who won the election to return to the Senate, other principal officers like the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma -Egba; his deputy, Abdul Ningi; Chief Whip, Bello Gwarzo; and his deputy, Hosea Agboola, all lost their bid to return.

The current configuration is set to automatically transform the status of the APC members, especially the principal officers from minority to the majority.

For instance, the Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, according to sources, may likely emerge the new senate president, although some of his colleagues believed that another ranking senator should be elected since Mark, his kinsman from Benue man, would be relinquishing the seat after eight years.