The President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will, on Monday, hold a crucial meeting with senators and House of Representatives members elected on the platform of the party.
A statement by APC National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, said the meeting will hold at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Though the details of the meeting were not disclosed in the statement, it was learnt that the parley will focused on the leadership of the 10th National Assembly, which will be inaugurated in June.
Those eyeing the positions of the Senate president, deputy Senate president, House of Representatives speaker, deputy speaker, and other principal officers have begun making moves, meeting key stakeholders and colleagues.
Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) Sani Musa (Niger), Barau Jibrin (Kano) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) are said to be interested in running for the Senate presidency.
The final candidates for the positions will largely be determined by zoning by the leadership of APC, whose party won majority seats in the parliament.
APC secured 57 senatorial seats, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 29 seats; Labour Party six; New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) two; Social Democratic Party (SDP) two; the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Young Peoples Party (YPP) one each.
Some analysts believe that it is likely that APC might zone the post to the south for power balance, especially after its Muslim-Muslim ticket triggered outrage from some quarters, especially the Christian community.
Meanwhile, a contender for the Senate Presidency, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano), has hosted over 70 senators-elect to form the needed bond ahead of the inauguration of the parliament.
Barau is the only APC member that won a senatorial seat from Kano State. The other two seats are won by the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).
Barau, who is a third-timer at the upper chamber, is yet to publicly declare his interest to run for the coveted seat, he has deployed his foot soldiers to meet key stakeholders, including ranking federal lawmakers.
He currently chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
The meeting was part of the moves to familiarise with the senators-elect and seek their support for his ambition.
It was gathered that over 70 senators-elect attended the luncheon held at the NICON Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday. The meeting was held after the presentation of certificates of return to the lawmakers.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Tuesday presented certificates of return to the at least 98 senators-elect at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday.
A senator-elect, who attended the meeting, said the attendance was not limited to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He said senators-elect who are members of other political parties attended the party.
“As a second timer at the red chamber, I know Barau because I have interacted with him previously. He has a thorough understanding of parliamentary proceedings and he is an easy-going fellow. He has my vote come June when the 10th assembly will be inaugurated,” the lawmaker, who is from the southern part of the country said.
Another senator-elect from the South-South zone, said: “Barau will surely have my vote for the Senate Presidency, he is a fantastic lawmaker with good leadership qualities. He has been supportive of us from when he was elected to serve as the chairman of the APC Senatorial candidates forum to date.”
A serving senator, who won re-election, also confirmed the meeting, but said it was just a familiarisation parley to interact with lawmakers-elect and get to know one another.
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