>
By Emmanuel Adeleke
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has said the emergence of the immediate past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, as the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly is a done deal.
Ganduje stated this during a meeting with his Cross River counterpart, Ben Ayade, in Calabar, on Thursday.
According to Ganduje, the decision to nominate Akpabio was already a done deal. He, however, failed to explain if it was a decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership.
“The Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will come from the South South and it is no other person than the former governor of Akwa Ibom.
“The uncommon governor, the uncommon minister who is going to be the uncommon president of the senate. So we have resolved that.
“I am giving you assurance, we are waiting for the D-Day that he will be the Senate President of Nigeria,” the Kano governor said.
Responding, Ayade expressed gratitude over the choice of Akpabio.
“I want to thank you so much for zoning the Senate President to the South South and to our brother from a neighbouring state who is also part of Cross River State.
“We want to thank you for this great opportunity because our dream of a Bakassi seaport is becoming very real,” Ayade said.
Akpabio and former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, are the front runners from the South for the Senate Presidency seat.