In a bid to form the needed bond and friendship ahead of the inauguration of the parliament, a leading contender for the senate presidency, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano) has hosted over 70 senators-elect.
The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, saw Barau, a third-timer at the upper chamber and fourth-timer at the National Assembly, having served at the House of Representatives (1999-2003), setting up the move that would allow the senators-elect to begin to form the needed bond among themselves to make the 10th Senate very successful.
Regarded as a party man and an ardent supporter of the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Barau is the only one that won a senatorial seat from Kano State.
A senator-elect who attended the meeting said the attendance was not limited to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as senators-elect who are members of other political parties also attended.
“As a second timer in the red chamber, I know Barau because I had 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,” the lawmaker, who is from the southern part of the country, said.
Also speaking, 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 to date.”
An aide of the lawmaker said Senator Barau, who currently chairs the Senate Committee on Appropriations, organised the event to enable him interact with his colleagues.
“It was to enable him interact and familiarise with his colleagues and nothing more,” he said.
It was gathered that the senators-elect attended the meeting in Abuja after the presentation of certificates of return to the lawmakers.
No fewer than 98 out of 109 senators were given certificates of return by the national commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Tuesday.
After swearing in on May 29, the new president will in the second week of his tenure, 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 the legislature.
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