Senate resumes on Tuesday

The Senate is to resume sitting on Tuesday after the Eid-el Kabir holiday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as the upper chamber resumes, majority and minority leaders are expected to emerge.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), with the largest number of members, is expected to produce the majority leader, while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will produce the minority leader.

While APC has 59 senators; PDP has 36; Labour Party (LP) eight; Social Democratic Party (SDP) two; New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) two; Young Peoples Party (YPP) one and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) one.

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This shows that seven political parties make up the membership of the 10th Senate, with 50 as opposition members.

The ruling APC and the minority caucus are also expected to fill the vacant eight principal positions.

While APC is expected to produce the majority leader, deputy majority leader, chief whip and deputy chief whip, the four principal positions reserved for the minority caucus are minority leader, deputy minority leader, minority whip and deputy minority whip.

PDP, being the major opposition party, is expected to produce the minority leader, deputy leader, minority whip and deputy minority whip.

Nominations for the positions are purely the affairs of political parties with the majority of seats in the Senate.

Findings by NAN show that the major contenders for the Senate majority leader’s seat include: Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti) and Sen. Mohammed Ndume (APC-Borno).

The duo was among the arrowheads of Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s campaign for the Senate presidency.

Ndume served as the director-general of Akpabio’s campaign committee, while Bamidele was the deputy.

Also, Sen. Adamu Aliero (PDP-Kebbi) and Sen. Aminu Tambuwal (PDP-Sokoto) are contenders for the minority leader seat. (NAN)