Only three female Senators present as INEC Present Certificate of Return to Senators-Elect
Just three females out of the 101 Senators-elect were present as the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) gave out Certificate of Return to Senators-elect on Tuesday in Abuja.
The three are Rivers Deputy Ipilabo Banigo; former Lagos Deputy Governor Idiat Adebule and wife of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ireti Kingibe.
The total number of Senators in the National Assembly is 109, this comprises of three senators from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
Our Correspondent reports that it remains about eight Senators to receive their certificate of return from INEC
In the meantime, Senator-elect for Kano Central, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau was not available to collect his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Shekarau, who was declared winner of the Kano Central on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) resigned his membership of the party. He wrote to inform the party he was no longer interested in the ticket.
Although the party went to court to compel INEC to replace Shekarau with another candidate since he was no longer a member of the NNNP, party officials said the Commission failed to do so, insisting the former Kano Governor can only be replaced in a situation of death or incapacitation.
Shekarau alleged the Leader of the NNPP and presidential candidate of the party, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwasobetrayed their agreements.
He said: “All the agreements we had with him were betrayed by Kwankwaso and his boys and they did not accommodate one single person from my camp.
“We reached an agreement to accommodate my supporters into various elective positions in the party, but until now, the committee set up could not accommodate one single person, apart from the senatorial slot given to me.
“I will never be a party to injustice. My integrity is utmost and not any political position that will make me compromise it and that of my people. Nobody will use position or money against my integrity.
“I am a man of honour and integrity but his governorship candidate (Abba Kabir Yusuf), who was given the responsibility to look at areas to accommodate my people into various elective positions never for one single day did so or even called for meeting talk less of accepting my supporters to contest.
“Nobody will use money to change my conscience. I was a governor for eight years in Kano and people believed in my integrity. I am still living in a rented house in Abuja and never allocated a single plot of land to myself, when I served as governor in Kano and I challenged anyone, who knows my plot of land to expose it.”
The National Chairman of the Party, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali could not be reached as of the time of this report.
Senators-Elect who collected their certificates of return on Tuesday: include Adams Osiomhole (Edo); Orji Uzor Kalu(Abia); Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); Danjuma Goje (Gombe); Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe); Abdulaziz Yari(Zamara); Adamu Aliero (Kebbi); Gbenga Daniel (Ogun); Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe); Idiat Adebule (Lagos) and IpaliboBanigo (Rivers, Deputy).
Others include Solomon Adeola Olamilekan; Osita Izunaso(former National Publicity of the APC) Ireti Kingibe, younger brother to late President Umaru Yar’adua, Abdulaziz Yar’adua, among others.
The Senators elect also included some serving members of the House of Representatives who won election s into the Senate.
They include: Dalington Nwkocha (Abia); Mohammed TahirMonguno (Borno); Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti); Nasir Zango-Daura (Katsina) and Muntar Dandutse (Katsina).
Below is a list of senatorial seats won by political parties for the 10th Assembly:
APC – 57
PDP – 29
LP – 6
SDP – 2
NNPP – 2
YPP – 1
APGA – 1
