The fact that Gboyega Aribisogan was elected as the new speaker of the Ekiti state assembly emerged on Tuesday following the death of former speaker Funminiyi Afuye.
Afuye, who represented Ikere Constituency 1 in the assembly, died at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital on October 19 and was buried at his country house in Ikere-Ekiti last Friday.
Aribisogan, the new speaker from Ijesha-Isu, the Ikole local government area in the state’s northern Senate constituency, defeated his only challenger for the first legislative seat, Bunmi Adelugba representing the Emure constituency.
The election, presided over by House Clerk Tora Ethan, saw the newly elected speaker win a total of 15 votes, beating Adluba, who had 10.
Aribisogan was sworn in by the secretary of the House of Representatives in a plenary session on Tuesday, announcing that 25 members had voted and no invalid votes were recorded.
Aribisogan was nominated by Tajudeen Akingbolu of Ekiti West 1 and seconded by Adegoke Olajide of Efon constituency, while Bode Adeoye Oyekola of Ekiti West 2 nominated Adelugba and was seconded by Ojo Martin of Ijero constituency.
The Nigerian Tribune has reliably concluded that Adelugba is the preferred candidate for former Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi, while Aribisogan is the choice of Governor Biodun Oyebanji and some of the victimized lawmakers who were denied return votes in the 2023 general election.
Victimized lawmakers voted against Adelugba in retaliation for Fayemi, who allegedly opposed their return to the House during the primaries of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), according to a source close to the politics in Tuesday’s election.
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“The truth of the matter is that these lawmakers proved a point today (Tuesday) that the former governor and his wife can’t again decide for them who will be the leader of the House, especially now that most of them are,” the source said. Not going home next year.
“The new speaker (Aribisogan) did not get a return ticket and others did not vote for him, against the woman MP who lost her House ticket to incumbent MP Femi Bamisile.
“Let me just add that the new governor thinks the speaker should come from the north to balance power, he is well aware that the governor is from the center and his deputy is from the south, naturally the speaker should be from the north, but the previous governor and his wife didn’t think so, so When consensus action fails, he goes to the plenary for a vote.”
Esan said the election was peaceful, credible, free and fair, and the election process complied with all the necessary guidelines stipulated in the rules of procedure of the House of Representatives.
“With these results, I hereby declare that Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan, having obtained 15 votes, the winner, is hereby elected as the new Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Representatives,” he said.
After being sworn in as the new Speaker, Ali Bissogan expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for finding him worthy to lead the House.
He pledged to demonstrate trust in him and to perform his duties to the best of his ability to protect the nation’s constitution and the standing rules of the House of Representatives, adding that he would continue to do so.
In a related development, the Ekiti state assembly has a new group of key officials, with Ali Bisokan becoming speaker.
In the new list of key officials, Hakeem Jamiu retained the position of deputy speaker, while Yemisi Ayokunle, who represents Ekiti South West, became the new business leader, thus becoming the first female MP in the history of the House of Representatives.
The other principal officers are Chief Whip Tope Ogunleye; Tajudeen Akingbolu, Deputy Chief; and Adeteju Okuyiga as Deputy Whip.
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