Senate Presidency: Yari kicks, says Tinubu can’t stop him

Abdul’Aziz Yari, former Zamfara State Governor and a Senator-elect, has vowed to go ahead with his Senate presidency bid.

Daily Trust reports that other contenders for the position, like Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi and Senator Ali Ndume (Borno) have withdrawn from the race and backed the party’s choice of former Akwa-Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio.

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But Yari said Akpabio’s endorsement by President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu would, not stop him from the contest.

He spoke while meeting with the executives of the Tinubu/Shettima Network (TSN), headed by its National Chairman, Kailani Muhammad, in Abuja, on Saturday.

He said the contest for the Senate presidency will be based on constitutional provisions and not instructions by anyone.

He said, “What is going to happen that day, it is going to happen based on the instructions of the constitution and not for anyone.”

Yari said the Senate presidency contest was senators’ business, backed by the 1999 Constitution to choose their leaders within themselves and not based on instructions from anyone.

Meanwhile, the senators-elect of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have rejected the choice of Senator Akpabio for Senate presidency in the 10th National Assembly.

Daily Trust had exclusively reported that the President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, had concluded plans to pair Akpabio and Senator Barau Jubrin as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively.

A PDP Senator-elect from South-South, who preferred not to be named, said Akpabio was not in the good book of the PDP caucus in the National Assembly both the outgoing 9th Assembly and the incoming 10th Assembly.