By our reporter| Seventeen lawmakers of the Edo State House of Assembly on Thursday impeached the Speaker of the House, Francis Okiye, and his deputy, Roland Asoro.
The impeachment of the speaker and his deputy took place at a private location in Benin City, the state capital, hours after security officials took over the State Assembly Complex.
The lawmakers elected Victor Edoror, who represents Esan Central Constituency, and Emmanuel Agbaje, who represents Akoko-Edo Constituency II as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively.
At the meeting, the 14 lawmakers-elect were, first, sworn in and then, together with three other lawmakers who recently pledged their allegiance to Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) procceded to impeached the Speaker and his deputy.
The crisis in the Edo state house of assembly dates back to 2019, after twenty-four lawmakers were elected from the 24 constituencies during the 2019 general elections.
However, only 10 of them were inaugurated on July 17 of the same year, sparking a controversy that included intervention from the National Assembly.
Five of the 10 lawmakers that were inaugurated including the then Deputy Speaker, Yekini Idiaye, had declared support for Ize-Iyamu last week, after accusing Governor Godwin Obaseki of rendering the legislature in the state useless.
In retaliation, four of the five inaugurated lawmakers met on Wednesday and impeached Idiaye, replacing him with Asoro.
The lawmakers, before the end of the plenary, also issued a notice to the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in Edo that they would be taking over the Assembly on Friday having taken over its leadership.
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