The 10th National Assembly is scheduled to be inaugurated on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, following the expiration of the current 9th National Assembly on Sunday, June 11. The current National Assembly, which commenced on June 11, 2019, will conclude its term on June 11, 2023, a non-working day, with June 12 being a public holiday observed as Democracy Day.
According to LEADERSHIP, the newly elected Senators and Members of the 10th National Assembly will receive their Certificates of Return on February 7 and 8 respectively, after emerging victorious in the February 25 National Assembly elections.
During a meeting with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu highlighted that the upcoming 10th National Assembly represents the most diverse party composition since 1999. As of now, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured 57 seats in the Senate, while the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has obtained 29 seats.
Other parties include All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with 1 seat, Labour Party (LP) with 6 seats, New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) with 2 seats, Social Democratic Party (SDP) with 2 seats, and Young Progressive Party (YPP) with 1 seat.
In the House of Representatives, the APC has won 162 seats, PDP has secured 102 seats, APGA has 4 seats, LP has 34 seats, NNPP has 18 seats, SDP has 2 seats, YPP has 1 seat, and African Democratic Congress (ADC) has 2 seats.
With this party configuration, the elections for Presiding Officers in both chambers of the 10th National Assembly are expected to be intriguing.
As the inauguration approaches, lawmakers-elect have already begun lobbying for the positions of Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Senate President, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.