Exactly nine months after the inauguration of the 10th Senate, the 51 Senators from the 17 Southern States met today to revive their forum. They elected six executive members to pilot the forum’s affairs under the chairmanship of Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, representing Lagos East District, of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Senators, who met at the Conference Room of the Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (APC Ekiti Central), said the Forum, like the Northern Senators’ Forum, has existed since the 9th Senate and is not a newly formed body.
Senator Bamidele, who served as chairman of the forum during the 9th Senate, said his current position as leader of the 10th Senate affected his ability to provide the required leadership for the forum, hence the change of leadership at the meeting.
What is happening here today is not new, as both the Southern and Northern Senators‘ forums existed before this 10th Senate. At this meeting of the Southern Senators, new executive members will be announced to steer the forum’s affairs.
According to him, “the new Chairman and other officers of the forum, as unanimously agreed by Southern Senators are, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru ( APC Lagos East), Vice Chairman, Senator Victor Umeh ( Labour Party, Anambra Central); Secretary is Senator Mpigi Barinada ( PDP Rivers South East), Publicity Secretary, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong ( APC Cross River North ) and Treasurer, Senator Kenneth Eze ( APC Ebonyi Central).
In his remarks, Senator Abiru accepted his appointment as the new leader of the forum and stated that it would serve as a platform for Southern Senators to discuss, analyse, and dissect national issues to advance Nigeria.
He added that they will partner with the Northern Senators Forum to move the country forward, saying, “This forum, the Southern Senators Forum is to champion the course of Nigeria and Nigerians. We have our Northern brothers with the Northern Senators Forum. We will work together with the NSF to move the country forward.”
“We will swing into action and roll out our plans for the betterment of the region and Nigeria. We will map out our plans and work on them for the betterment of Nigeria and Nigerians generally.
Before today, we ran the forum in this 10th Senate as if we didn’t exist, but now that the last leadership has transferred power to us, the forum will be vibrant,” he said.
