Senator Abdulaziz Yari has shared his thoughts following his loss in the race for the senate presidency seat to Senator Godswill Akpabio, accusing fellow senators of betraying him.
Senator Akpabio, representing Akwa Ibom North-West District, emerged as the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly after securing votes from the lawmakers.
The announcement of Akpabio's victory was made by the clerk of the National Assembly, Sani Tambawal Magaji, who revealed that Akpabio obtained 63 votes, while Yari received 46 votes.
Expressing his disappointment, Yari revealed that he had hoped to secure 61 out of the 109 votes, which would have resulted in him becoming the Senate President.
During an interview with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Yari stated, “Yes, I can say there was a betrayal. That's the truth because as we were taking stock as of 3 am, Monday-Tuesday election, we took stock of over 76.”
He continued, “But as usual, human beings, we thought we are going to get a pullout of about 15, which we will have a comfortable 61 to win the election. But it became the reverse, which only God knows what happened. So, I feel betrayed but life continues and it's a cycle.”
The 10th National Assembly was inaugurated on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, two days after the expiration of the 9th National Assembly's term.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured 57 seats in the 10th Senate, while the major opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), obtained 29 seats.
Other parties represented include All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with 1 seat, Labour Party (LP) with 6 seats, New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) with 2 seats, Social Democratic Party (SDP) with 2 seats, and Young Progressive Party (YPP) with 1 seat.
