Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly the race for the post of senate president has narrowed to three frontrunners among the contestants. They are Senators Osita Izunaso, Abdulkadir Yari and Godswill Akpabio.
As the race gathers momentum, the issue on the front burner among Nigerians is the need to ensure that the coveted office is occupied by a man with integrity and whose past is not dented by corruption. Already the new president Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu had in his inaugural speech dropped hints that his administration will fight corruption headlong and there are indications that based on the public perception about having a corrupt senate president, Asiwaju is changing his choice of Senator Akpabio.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is investigating Akpabio for sundry corruption allegations, and the fear that installing a senate president inundated with numerous corruption cases would send a wrong signal to the international community. Such investigations will also hamper the efforts by the Tinubu administration to initiate legislations through the National Assembly that will help reform the country’s economy and other sectors.
The aspiration of Senator Izunaso who is seen as unblemished is already gaining the acceptance of majority of the elected senators, and he may eventually emerge as the senate president. Many senators also consider him friendly and approachable, and who can help the president deliver on his promises to Nigerians.
