Agitation heightens as political plots thicken to unseat the Speaker of the the Edo State House of State House of Assembly, Rt.Hon Blessing Agbebaku paving way for an All Progressives, Congress, APC Lawmaker to replace Agbebaku.
The agitation was further propelled since the ruling party in state APC assumed the majority in the house following last week defection of three PDP lawmakers and one Labour party thereby swelling the rank of the APC Lawmaker 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 aimed at overturning the Speaker’s hold on power.
The group at a recent high-stake stakeholders meeting in held in Auchi, Etsako West, members from across the Edo North district rallied together, unified in their opposition to Rt Hon 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 Rt Hon Agbebaku’s removal adding he Agbebaku orchestrated painful campaign against APC members during the state assembly election .
Leader of the group, 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 therefore questioned why Speaker Blessing Agbebaku should thrive where he has sown only discord and added that the Speaker, even when pretending to be at home with incumbent Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo still has his loyalty intact with his parent platform, the PDP.
“Now, the APC commands a significant majority in the House, boasting 13 seats to the PDP’s 11. With the Speaker hailing from the party with the smallest block, a palpable hunger for change has emerged.
“The ENC have therefore stepped into the fray and vowed to champion the cause for the Speaker’s removal, which it described as “untenable and inexplicable”.
“The clamour for the removal of the incumbent Speaker is not just about party politics, but a rallying cry that will reverberate through APC circles not only in Edo State but the country at large, by bringing this obviously abnormally to the ears of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”.
The Group equally vowed to reach out to influential APC stakeholders, including Gov Okpebholo, insisting it’s time for the APC to take its rightful place by having one of its own as the Speaker.
