Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

Former Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara state, with the support of 49 Senators elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP intriguingly outsmarted his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC on Tuesday morning to emerge the Senate President.

Saraki was unanimously elected the President of eight session of the Senate of Nigerian National Assembly by 57 senators who were present at the inauguration of the new session of the Senate.

Saraki, with Senator Sani Yarima, taking the oath

APC is in majority control of the Senate with 59 members while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has 49 members.

Saraki was nominated by Sani Yarima, former governor of Zamfara state. Dino Melaye, from Kogi state, seconded his nomination.

When the clerk of the National Assembly, called for more nominations, there was none. He therefore declared Bukola the duly elected president of the senate.

Ahmad Lawan, the preferred candidate of the APC, was not nominated.

Indeed, Lawan was not present at the chamber of the Senate during the election as the meeting of President Muhammadu Buhari with lawmakers elected on the platform of APC was supposed to be going on at the International Congerence Centre, which is several kilometres away from the National Assembly at the time of the sitting.

Senators loyal to Saraki had boycotted the peace meeting called by President Muhammadu Buhari on his arrival from Germany in the early hours of today.

The meeting was called to douse controversies generated by the emergence of Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, as APC’s candidates for Senate Presidency and Speakership in a straw poll conducted by the party at the weekend.

But as some other legislators were heading for the Conference Centre, Senators supporting Saraki, especially those elected on the platform of PDP were already seated awaiting inauguration.

Indications that the inauguration will still hold emerged when the Clerk of the National Assembly entered the Chamber.

Policemen and officials of other security had as early as 6 a.m blocked the road leading to the National Assembly to stop human and vehicular movement into the premises.

The emergence of Saraki as the Senate President was th actualisation of a coup plotted against the APC by PDP Senators and governors elected on the platform of the opposition party on Monday night.

At the end of the meeting which ended on Tuesday morning, the PDP Senators had endorsed the candidature Saraki as President of the Senate and Yakubu Dogara as the speaker of the House of Representatives.

This is against the preference of Lawan and Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila respectively for the same position.

Saraki who defected from PDP to APC in 2013 had also promised to cede the position of Deputy Senate President and Leader of the Senate to his former party to get the support of the opposition legislators.

Hence, it was not a suprise that former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekewremandu was promptly nominated for the position of Deputy Senate President after the election of Saraki.

He defeated Ali Ndume of APC who was initially being supported for the position by Saraki and his supporters.

Senator David Mark, former Senate President was also elected senate leader.

It was the first time, that a minority party, not in alliance with the majority party would occupy high positions in the legislature.