Senate Presidency: Meet The Senators Justling For The Seat

APC Senators who won the recently concluded National Assembly election have refused to make comment on their preferred candidate for the post of Senate President in the eight National Assembly.

Investigations show that Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central ); Senate George Akume ( Benue North West); and Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), have started making moves to clinch the big office.

But a PDP senator, who pleaded anonymity, told Punch in Abuja that David Mark might recontest the seat “because there is no section either in the constitution or the Senate rules that says only members from the majority party could emerge as president of the upper chamber.”

The source said Mark could still be re-elected as the Senate President.

“Since Senator Mark is currently enjoying a massive support from his PDP colleagues and he is also loved by majority of the opposition senators who are returning to the Senate, he could be voted for if they still believe in his leadership,” he said.

Attempts to speak with the media aides of Mark on the issue were unsuccessful on Sunday as none of them picked their calls or reply the text message sent to their phones.

But findings revealed that the APC leadership would not allow the emergence of the next Senate President from the PDP come June this year when the 8th National Assembly would be inaugurated.

Most of the senators who spoke on the issue during separate telephone conversations with Punch confirmed that serious moves were being made by Saraki, Akume, and Goje to take over the seat from Mark.

One of them from the South West said, “I have personally been consulted separately by the contenders and I told them that I would support any candidate which the party leadership approves.”