Senate president election was free, fair – Ndume

Sen. Ali Ndume (APC-Borno) on Tuesday, described the conduct of the senate president election for the 9th National Assembly as “free and fair.”

Ndume, who made the remark while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the poll in Abuja, said the election was not a fight but a contest.

It was reported that Ndume and Sen. Ahmad Lawan contested for the number-one seat of the 9th Senate.

While Lawan polled 79 votes to emerge the winner, Ndume scored 28 votes out of the total votes of 107.

He said his involvement in the contest had given the process a credibility.

”Now, my colleagues have decided, but whatever result is, the election was free and fair which is what we have to do.

”I hope that the party will also agree with me that what I did was to insist on doing the right thing in the interest of democracy.

”I think the right thing has been done and my fate has been decided by the Almighty Allah this date through my colleagues,” he said.

The lawmaker, who believed that only God knew what he had in stock for him, said he did his best.

”I begged Allah and my colleagues for the position of the senate president and I did my best in order to achieve this,” he said.

Ndume, who said that he had accepted his fate, pledged to support Lawan to succeed.

”This is so because his success is our success,” he said.

He said the new senate president had all that it takes to lead the 9th Senate.

He also said the emergence of Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege as the deputy senate president had shown the beauty of democracy.

”I have confidence in him and all we need to do is to cooperate as one among equal.

”I like his energy and resilience and I hope he will make a very good deputy senate president,” ‘he said.

On how he felt about the election, he said: ”I am comfortable with it. I was one of the first that went to congratulate my colleagues.”

”May be you don’t know me; I am okay. I will sleep very well today and you know, I was looking forward to this day because I worked very hard,” he said.