Former Kwara State Governor and Senator representing Kwara Central, Bukola Saraki has been elected Senate President of the 8th Senate. Elected unopposed, he was nominated by Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani of Zamfara West. Saraki saw off the rumoured challenge of Senator Ahmed Lawan. His deputy will be Senator Ike Ekwerenmadu elected on the PDP platform representing Enugu West who will be retaining the position he occupied in the last Senate. This alliance of the APC and PDP, a replay of the Tambuwal scenario in the lower house during the Goodluck years explains Saraki’s success over Lawan despite the latter winning the party’s internal primary.
Update; There’s some controversy as to the manner in which Saraki emerged. Talk is that 51 senators (including Lawan) were absent during the vote. It is believed they were in a meeting with President Buhari who returned to the country last night after attending the G7 summit in Germany.