Determined to work together with the Northern Senators’ Forum to move the country forward, Southern Senators’ on Wednesday revived it’s forum.
Consequently, the forum has elected Six executive members to pilot the affairs of the forum under the chairmanship of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, representing Lagos East District.
Recall, the Senate on Tuesday suspended Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi central, PDP) over comments on the 2024 budget in an interview with BBC Hausa Service.
Indeed, the 51 Senators from the 17 Southern States, said the forum, like the Northern Senators’ Forum, has been in existence since the 9th Senate and not a newly formed body.
In an address by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, (Ekiti Central, APC), who served as the chairman of the group during the 9th senate said his current position as Leader of the 10th Senate, affectd his providing the required leadership the forum needed, hence the change of leadership which took place at meeting.
“What is happening here today is not new as both the Southern and Northern Senators’ fora existed even before this 10th Senate”.
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).
Speaking shortly after his emergence, Senator Abiru said the forum would serve as a veritable platform for discussing, analysing and dissecting national issues by Southern Senators for the sole purpose of moving Nigeria forward.
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”.
