“Senate Presidency is a Senator’s Business” — Yari Attacks Tinubu

Senator Abdulaziz Yari, a Senate presidential candidate, recently spoke out against reported attempts by President-elect Bola Tinubu to influence Senate leadership selection.

Yari, a former governor of Zamfara, is advocating for the constitutionally mandated process of selecting the presiding officers of the Assembly’s Upper Chamber to be followed.

Yari stated during a meeting with executives of the Tinubu Shettima Network (TSN) chaired by Dr. Kailan that the responsibility for selecting Senate leaders lay with the senators themselves.

The Senate Presidential election, according to Yari, is solely a matter for the senators, with the Constitution providing the necessary framework for determining leadership positions.

“The Senate presidency is a senator’s business, and on the day when we are going to do it, everybody may think of the party body or anyone is advisory to what we are going to do that day, but the final decision is ours,” he said.

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“We are not for anyone when we do that.” We are following the constitution’s directive to choose our own leader.

“The sections of the constitution state this very clearly.” What happens that day will happen according to the instructions of the constitution, not for anyone.

“So, we are going to exercise our constitutional rights there,” Yari explained.

Earlier, this newspaper reported that Yari had refused to step down for former minister and Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio.

It is believed that Yari’s decision to defy President-elect Bola Tinubu, who is reportedly pushing for Akpabio’s selection as Senate President, is causing a schism among the contenders.