One of the contenders for the position of Senate President, Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North), has hosted over 70 Senators-elect to cultivate the needed bond and friendships ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.
It has been learnt that over 70 Senators-elect attended the luncheon at the NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja last Tuesday.
The meeting held after the presentation of certificates of return to the lawmakers, it was further learnt.
No fewer than 98 out of 109 senators-elect were presented with Certificates of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the International Conference Centre last Tuesday.
A total of seven political parties won Senatorial seats with APC topping the chart with 57 seats.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 29 seats; Labour Party won six; New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) won two; Social Democratic Party (SDP) also won two; the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Young Progressives Party (YPP) got one each.
The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, saw Barau, a third-term senator at the red chamber and fourth-term lawmaker at the National Assembly – having served at the House of Representatives between 1999 – 2003, setting up the move that will allow the senators-elect to begin to form the needed bond amongst themselves to make the 10th Senate very successful.
Barau, who is regarded as a party man and ardent supporter of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is the only senator on the platform of the APC elected to to the 10th National Assembly from Kano State.
A Senator-elect, who attended the meeting, said the attendance was not limited to senators-elect of the 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,” a lawmaker, who is from the southern part of the country said.
A Senator-elect from the South-South zone, who is going to the Senate for the first time, said: “Senator 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 till date.”
An aide of the lawmaker said Senator Barau, who chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations, organised the event to enable him to interact with his colleagues.
“It was to enable him to interact and familiarise himself with his colleagues and nothing more,” he said.
After swearing in on May 29, the incoming President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will in the second week of his tenure in June, transmit a proclamation letter to the National Assembly to terminate the Ninth Assembly and kick-start the 10th Assembly. This will give room for the emergence of new presiding officers for both the red and green chambers.
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