A cross-section of the newly inaugurated senators has commended the emergence of Godswill Akpabio (APC, Akwa-Ibom) and Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano) as Senate President and Deputy Senate President of the 10th Assembly, respectively.
Akpabio and Jibrin were on Tuesday inaugurated as leaders of the 10th Senate.
Speaking on the developments, Neda Imasuen (LP, Edo) commended the emergence of the duo of Akpabio and Jibrin.
He noted that the multiplicity of parties in the National Assembly would foster a robust parliament.
“I’m very excited because we now have a robust parliament. It used to be two parties, and we now have eight parties in the Senate,” Imasuen was quoted as saying.
“So the conversation will not be one-sided or two-sided; the conversation is going to be more robust and enterprising.
“It is going to be a situation where the debates cannot be partisan; it has to be a Nigerian debate. It is going to be good and better for the country,” he stated.
Sen. Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi), who avowed that the election was free and fair and without much-anticipated drama, said: “That is what makes the institution of the Senate different. The animosity and the fear of what happened in the last two days completely vanished.”
He said further: “You go into the hall and you see how people are embracing themselves, and that is parliament, and that is democracy.
“We have refused to be intimidated by any enforcement, and that is why we said there must be an election.
“We know we are in the minority. The position I took was not the position of my party but that of the minority caucus, and as you could see, not all of us actually voted on the same page.
“Some people actually went to negotiate, and that is parliament. But I believe in the next six months or so, we are going to bind together by putting the nation first.”
Ede Dafinone (APC, Delta) said: “We have a dynamic Senate President with an outstanding Deputy, both with excellent reputations and excellent track records.
“We are hoping and praying they will follow the lead already given by President Bola Tinubu, who has hit the ground running. He has shown Nigerians that he is ready to get the job done, and the National Assembly must support him to do that.
“With two dynamic leaders in position, I hope Nigerians will see that the Senate is ready to hit the ground running as soon as possible.”
Similarly, Osita Izunaso (APC, Imo), who had earlier stepped down for Akpabio, said that the most important thing was that democracy had been deepened.
“So it is not about winner or loser. There was no winner or loser because we are still first among equals,” he declared.
He continued: “The Senate is far different from the Executive, where one man calls the shot. We are all equals; we are all colleagues; and we are all sworn in today as senators.
“I wish Akpabio well as Senate President. If I had won, I would also expect him to support me. I will give him support.”
One of the female senators, Ipalibo Banigo (PDP, Rivers), said that the 10th Assembly would be a transformational assembly that would touch the lives of Nigerians.
“Nigerians will feel our impact,” Banigo said.
According to her: “I will make sure that everything that is a problem for my constituents is given due attention in the Senate and in the National Assembly. As a woman, I will work with other women to progress on the issue of gender.”
Francis Fadahunsi (PDP, Osun), who noted that the election was keenly contested, avowed that “we will work together to ensure a rancour-free parliament.”