… Akpabio is new Senate President
… Abbas elected Speaker, House of Reps
Enugu State House of Assembly bows to parliamentary protocol today as Uche Ugwu (PDP, Udi South) is elected new Speaker in an unanimously vote.
Hon. Ugwu was nominated unopposed by Hon Iloabachi Aniagu (PDP, Nkanu West).
Incidentally, Ugwu served as deputy speaker in the last parliament and therefore comes to the position with experience on the job.
He however clinched the position following a parliamentary rule that reserved the two principal leadership position to ranking members.
Clerk of the House, Dr. Emmanuel Udaya read out the standing rule as the members got down to the business of the day.
The rule states as follows: “Any member nominated as speaker or deputy speaker shall be a ranking member who must have successfully completed a 4-year tenure in a House of Assembly.”
All 14 members of the Labour Party are freshmen in the House while PDP has three ranking members.
Consequently, the deputy speaker position also went to another PDP legislator, Ezenta Ezeani (PDP, Igbo Etiti East).
He was nominated by Hon. Jane Eneh, (PDP, Awgu North), another ranking member and the lone female legislator in the House.
Hon Ugwu is a minority legislator in the new Assembly where Labour Party has a simple majority.
Labour Party has 14 members in the 24-member assembly, while PDP won 10 seats in the 18 March 2023 elections.
The PDP won the governorship election but Labour is contesting the result in an election court in Enugu City.
The new speaker acknowledged the diversity in the House but promised to work for the interest of all.
“What is binding us together is greater than what is dividing us,” he said while thanking his colleagues for the confidence reposed in him.
He promised that the House will elect other principal officers at its next sitting.
Akpabio is new Senate President
The new Senate President for the 10th National Assembly is Godswill Akpabio.
At the inaugual sitting today, Senators voted to elect the former former governor, senator and minister as their new President.
Akpabio beat former Zamfara Governor, Abdulazeez Yari by 63 votes to 46 to clinch the keenly contested position.
Akpabio governed Akwa Ibom State and served as a Senator before former President Muhamadu Buhari appointed him to serve as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
Abbas is Speaker, House of Reps
Mmbers of the House of Representatives today at their inaugural meeting elected Tajudeen Abbas as their new Speaker.
Abbas coasted to an easy victory, winning 353 of the 359 votes to emerge the preferred candidate.
His opponents, immediate past deputy speaker Ahmed Wase and Sani Jaji, each collected a paltry three votes to come a distant second.
Uche Ugwu is new Enugu Speaker
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