Details have emerged about how Victor Edoror representing Esan Central Constituency, emerged the new speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly. Hitherto, the picture had been sketchy about the new development in which the erstwhile factional Speaker, Frank Okiye, and his deputy, Roland Asoro, were reportedly impeached. A statement which emanated from the newly constituted Principal Officers Council, POC, said Edoror, a former Speaker of the House in the sixth Assembly, was elected at an emergency plenary session attended by 17 elected members.
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Okiye and Asoro were said to have been impeached after a motion moved by Sunday Aghedo (APC Ovia South-west) and signed by the entire members calling for their ouster. The motion was seconded by Ohio Ezomo (APC Owan West).
Emmanuel Agbaje, representing Akok- Edo Constituency II was also elected the Deputy Speaker of the 7th Assembly. The motion nominating Edoror was moved by Hon Washington Osifo (APC Uhunmwonde) and seconded by Eric Okaka(APC, Owan-East), and in the absence of further nominations, he was elected.
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Before the election, 12 out of the 14 members who were not sworn-in during the June 17, 2019 clandestine inauguration of nine out of the 24 elected members took their oaths of office which was administered by Tom Efezokhae, the Deputy Clerk of the House. The ceremony was said to have taken place at the Conference Hall of the State Assembly. With the new development, previous actions taken by the 7th Assembly were deemed nullified. Thereafter, the new Speaker announced that plenary would resume on Friday, August 7, 2020.
In his address, Edoror said the 7th Assembly would focus on its legislative duties, and not pursue the impeachment of any member of the Executive. He called for unity and togetherness, stating that there was no victor, no vanquished. He also directed the Edo Commissioner of Police, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and other security agencies to eject the thugs who had invaded the Assembly Complex “to allow for a rancor free plenary on Friday, August 7”.
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In his reaction, Okiye dismissed his impeachment as a “non-issue”, stressing that “I don’t want to respond to such issue”.
Meanwhile, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the September 19 Edo State Governorship election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has congratulated the newly-elected Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Victor Edoror, describing his emergence as the end of a deformed and lopsided democracy.
In a congratulatory message signed by John Mayaki, the Chairman of the APC State Media Campaign Council, Ize-Iyamu, said the emergence of Edoror as Speaker was a victory for Edo State and all constituencies previously denied representation. “I am happy to receive the news of the emergence of Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror as the Speaker of the Edo State House Assembly. His emergence marks an end to a lopsided and deformed democracy, ushering in a new and reformed era of inclusive governance and non-discriminatory politics.
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“Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror’s emergence is also a victory for the people of Edo State, for the constituencies previously sidelined, and for the House-members’ elect who had been unfairly denied their elective right to represent their constituencies in government. Personally, as someone who has known Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror for a long time, I am convinced by the great personality he is; I am sure that this joy sweeping across Edo as the shackles of tyranny breaks today, will not be temporary.
“As a true democrat and a progressive, and as someone who came to leadership through and after an elongated period of political persecution, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror knows the sour taste of injustice and as such would not let one more Edo person experience such”.
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Ize-Iyamu asserted that “Backed by an overwhelming majority, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror is demonstrably the people’s choice for the position. And it is in line with common sense that for an individual to sway such massive support, he must have demonstrated great qualities admired and necessary for leadership and development, and as such is being trusted with the enormous task of piloting the House from its darkest moments as cast into by the reprehensible divide-and-rule politics of the outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki.
“I send my congratulations to Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror while at the same time encouraging him to set a good example with the opportunity of leadership God has given to him today”, Ize-Iyamu said.
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