Ahmed Lawan, the Senator representing Yobe North constituency, has been elected the new president of the Nigerian Senate.
Lawan beat Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South in the secret ballot vote that was conducted before the swearing in of 107 senators in the upper legislative chamber.
Both Lawan and Ndume are affiliated to the ruling All Progressive Party (APC), but Ndume went against party orders to step down for Lawan, and was himself endorsed by the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
All 107 senators participated in the Tuesday vote.
Lawan emerged victorious after garnering 79 votes, and was declared the new Senate President by the clerk of the National Assembly Mohammed Sani-Omolori.
Lawan was first elected into the Senate in 2007 after a stint in the House of Representatives, and has won re-election three times since. He was Senate Leader in the 8th Senate after his failed bid to become Senate President in 2015
Source:CGTN