ABUJA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Godswill Akpabio and Tajudeen Abbas, both from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, on Tuesday emerged as president of the Nigerian Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively, in separate elections for key positions for the parliament in Africa's most populous country.
In an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, elected members of the upper and lower houses gathered to elect their new leaders for the next legislative term. The election process was said to be conducted in a democratic and transparent manner, sticking to the constitutional provisions that govern the appointment of key positions within the bi-cameral legislature.
Akpabio, a former minority leader of the Senate, polled 63 votes to beat his rival and party man Abdulaziz Yari who scored 46 votes in the election for the 109-member Senate leadership. Jibrin Barau, a senator representing the northern state of Kano, was elected unopposed as the deputy Senate president.
On the other hand, Abbas, representing the northwestern state of Kaduna, emerged as the leader of the 360-member House of Representatives, the lower house, after polling 353 votes. Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker, also of the APC, was elected unopposed. ■