As a result of his victory over Senator Abdulaziz Yari, Senator Godswill Akpabio is now the 10th President of the Senate.
Former senator and minority leader Akpabio received 63 votes to defeat the former governor of Zamfara Yari, who received 46.
Prior to the start of the 10th National Assembly, the electorate of lawmakers had started voting on the Nigerian Senate floor.
Here are the top ten things to know about Akpabio:
1. Akpabio is from Ikot Ntuen in the Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
2. He has a law degree from the University of Calabar in Cross River State.
3. During the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari (2019–2022), Akapbio served as the minister for Niger Delta affairs.
4. He served as the governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015.
5. He was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of EMIS Telecoms Limited, a wireless telecommunications company in Lagos, Nigeria in 2002.
6. He was previously the National Publicity Secretary of the Association of Telecommunication Companies in Nigeria (ATCOM) and an EMIS director.
7. In 2002, he was appointed Honourable Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources by Akwa Ibom State Governor Obong Victor Attah.
8. He served as a commissioner in three key ministries between 2002 and 2006: petroleum and natural resources, local government and chieftaincy affairs, and land and housing.
9. When he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Akpabio was nominated for the position of Senate Minority Leader by the PDP’s South-South caucus, ratified by the PDP caucus in the Senate, and announced by the Senate President on July 28, 2015.
10. In order to run in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries in June 2022, Akpabio resigned from his position as minister for Niger Delta affairs, but he did so the night before the vote for the eventual winner, Bola Tinubu, who is currently the president of Nigeria.
In addition, Senator Jibrin Barau was elected as the Deputy President of the 10th Nigerian Senate after his nomination was the only one put forward by former governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi.
