There is a plot to unseat the speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Blessing Agbebaku, to pave the way for an All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker to replace him.
The agitation for his replacement was further propelled when the ruling party in the state, the APC, assumed the majority in the house following last week’s defection of three PDP lawmakers and one Labour Party member, thereby swelling the rank of the APC lawmakers in the house.
Leading the charge is the Edo North Conscience (ENC), a dynamic political and highly opinionated group that has unleashed a bold statement to overturn the speaker’s hold on power.
At a recent high-stakes stakeholders meeting held in Auchi, Etsako West, members from across the Edo North district rallied together, unified in their opposition to Agbebaku’s continued retention as the speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly.
They vowed to initiate the process that could ultimately lead to Agbebaku’s removal, adding that Agbebaku orchestrated a painful campaign against APC members during the state assembly election.
The group’s leader, Mr Oshioke Aledeh, and secretary, Mr Tunde Balogun, noted that Agbebaku ascended to the speaker’s chair backed by the then-dominant PDP, but their power has dwindled in recent months with a wave of defections to the APC.
They questioned why Speaker Blessing Agbebaku should thrive where he sowed discord. They added that even when pretending to be at home with incumbent Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo, the speaker still has his loyalty intact to his parent platform, the PDP.
The group vowed to reach out to influential APC stakeholders, including Governor Okpebholo, insisting it is time for the APC to take its rightful place by having one of its own as the speaker.
