Nigeria: Okpebholo to new Edo speaker: Lead with unity, transparency
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria
BENIN CITY — Edo State Governor, Senator Tuesday Okpebholo, has charged the new Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Yekini Idaiye, to prioritize unity, transparency and teamwork in running the affairs of the House.
The governor gave the advice on Monday when he received Idaiye and other lawmakers at Government House, Benin City. The visit followed Idaiye’s emergence as Speaker after Hon. Blessing Agbebaku resigned amid reported impeachment moves.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Patrick Ebojele, Okpebholo said political office should be handled with humility and responsibility.
“We must put arrogance aside to serve our people better because today we are here and tomorrow we don’t know where we will be,” the governor said.
“It is a new leadership. I don’t know what happened. Whatever must have happened in the House is for the House, and it remains there. I was also a parliamentarian, and I know that we respect one another.
Okpebholo urged the Speaker to understand the weight of his new role and ensure all 24 members are carried along.
“It is not just to be a leader, but a responsible leader. You are not just assuming a new office to be just an ordinary speaker. You should know that you are now carrying the shoulders of many people and you have to be transparent with your colleagues. You have to carry everybody along,” he said.
The governor warned that sidelining members could create fresh divisions in the House, and urged Idaiye to live up to the positive remarks made about him by colleagues.
“Everyone is saying good things about you. I want you to remain the way they have described you,” Okpebholo added.
He expressed hope that the 8th Assembly would remain crisis-free under the new leadership.
“I want us to have a peaceful House. For about two years, there have never been crises in the House. And I pray that in another two years, there will be no crises in the House,” he said.
Responding, Speaker Idaiye said the new leadership visited to formally introduce itself and to assure the governor of the Assembly’s support for his administration.
He pledged that the House would provide the necessary legislative backing to advance development in Edo State.
The meeting was also attended by Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilor; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Yakubu Musa; Edo APC Chairman, Jarrett Tenebe; and members of the party’s State Working Committee.
Both the APC and the NDC had earlier written to the House announcing new principal officers following the leadership change.
With the crisis that led to Agbebaku’s resignation now behind it, attention shifts to how the new Speaker and his team will manage internal relations and work with the executive to deliver on governance priorities.
