The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, revealed how the 73 new lawmakers led by Senator Saliu Mustapha decided the Senate’s leadership.
The majority leader of the House of Senate, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, has recounted how the influence of first-time Senator Saliu Mustapha was pivotal in the election of leaders in the Red Chamber.
Opeyemi recounted how Senator Mustapha and 72 other first-time senators formed the First-Time Senators Forum, which the latter chaired in the build-up to the Senate leadership election.
The Senate leader at a recent public event revealed that old-time lawmakers made all attempts to intimidate and frighten Senator Mustapha, but he stood his ground and never faltered.
“Seventy-three of the senators were first-timers, meaning that the ranking senators were not in a position to determine the Senate President.
“We were held on the jugular by the new senators, and they formed their own forum and chose distinguished Senator Saliu Mustapha as the chairman of First Time Senators Forum.
Senator Saliu Mustapha [Facebook]
“We tried to frighten him and letting him know that our rules does not recongnise any forum like that. And Mustapha will say, ‘Okay, on the day of the election, we will know what the rules will do,” Senator Bamidele recounted.
He further disclosed that the high-ranking senators had no option but to dialogue with Mustapha.
“We were forced to sit down with him. He did not only negotiate for himself but also for the first-time senators.”
