PDP/Labour May Appoint Reps Speaker As APC Acquires Senate Majority

The All Progressives Congress, APC is set to form the majority in the Senate but could form a minority in the House of Representatives it emerged on Saturday as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC disclosed details of the results of last Saturday’s National Assembly elections.

INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu also said the commission would soon be conducting supplementary elections in 46 Senatorial and Federal Constituencies, noting that only 98 out of 109 Senate seats have been declared so far.

In the House of Representatives, INEC said 325 out of 360 seats have been won by eight political parties.

He announced that Senators-elect would get their Certificates of Return on Tuesday while Members-elect would get theirs the following day.

Yakubu said; “In last Saturday’s elections, winners have also been declared for 423 national legislative seats while supplementary elections will be held in 46 constituencies. In the Senate, 98 out of 109 seats have been declared. So far, seven political parties have won senatorial seats while in the House of Representatives, 325 out of 360 seats have been won by eight political parties.

In terms of party representation, this is the most diverse national assembly since 1999″.

Giving a breakdown of the seats won parties, Yakubu said in the Senate, the All Progressives Congress APC has 57; APGA 1; LP 6; NNPP 2; PDP 29; SDP 2 and YPP 1.

With the development with 11 seats yet to be declared, the APC has already constituted the majority with the prospects of enthroning the next Senate President.

However, the APC with 35 seats yet to be declared could lose out in forming a majority in the House of Representatives as it needs to win at least 19 of the outstanding 35 seats to form the absolute majority in the House. The APC presently has 162 seats in the 360 House.

Giving details of the results of the elections into the House of Representatives, Yakubu said the African Democratic Congress ADC won 2 seats; APC 162; APGA 4; LP 34; NNPP 18; PDP 102; SDP 2 and YPP 1.

The present composition give a PDP/Labour alliance the prospect of forming the majority and appointing the next speaker of the House if the APC fails to win the 19 seats.

Their prospects, however, would depend on the minority parties being able to get to frame a working relationship.

Yakubu added:

“Certificates of Return will be presented to Senators-elect on Tuesday 7th March 2023 at 11.00am at the National Collation Centre (the International Conference Centre), Abuja, while Members of the House of Representatives-elect will receive theirs the following day, Wednesday 8th March 2023, at 11.00 am at the same venue.

“However, for effective crowd management, each Senator/Member-elect should be accompanied by a maximum of two guests. The comprehensive list of all members-elect will be uploaded to the Commission’s website shortly”, Yakubu added.

The INEC Chairman also conceded that last week’s national elections raised a number of issues that require immediate, medium, and long-term solutions.

According to him, while the planning for the election was painstakingly done, its implementation came with challenges, some of them unforeseen.

“The issues of logistics, election technology, the behaviour of some election personnel at different levels, and attitude of some party agents and supporters added to the extremely challenging environment in which elections are usually held in Nigeria.

“We appreciate the sacrifice and doggedness of Nigerians and the dignity and maturity displayed by political leaders even in the context of divergent views about the election. A lot of lessons have been learnt. Of immediate concern to the Commission is how the identified challenges can be addressed as we approach the concluding phase of the General Election involving the largest number of constituencies i.e. 28 State Governorship elections and 993 State Houses of Assembly seats”, he stated.

Send Us A Press Statement Advertise With Us Contact Us

 And For More Nigerian News Visit GWG.NG