Yekini Idiaye Emerges New Edo Assembly Speaker As Agbebaku Resigns Amid Impeachment Moves
The Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, has resigned from office following growing political tension within the state legislature and reported moves by a majority of lawmakers to impeach him. His resignation, which took effect on Monday, paved the way for the emergence of Hon. Yekini Idiaye, representing Akoko-Edo Constituency I, as the new Speaker of the Assembly, marking a swift and significant change in leadership within the state’s legislative arm.
Agbebaku’s resignation was confirmed by his media aide, Ivy Adodo-Ebojele, through a statement shared on social media, in which she announced the development without immediately providing further details on the specific circumstances surrounding the decision. The resignation came against the backdrop of reports that as many as seventeen of the Assembly’s twenty four lawmakers had signed a notice on Sunday night seeking his removal from office, setting the stage for a tense plenary session on Monday during which the leadership change ultimately took place.
Speaking before formally handing over the position, Agbebaku explained that his resignation came in response to a decision he had been asked to accept in the interest of maintaining peace within the state. He told members of the House that he agreed with the collective position reached by his colleagues, describing the moment as one in which he stood before them as a hero despite the circumstances of his departure. He further expressed appreciation to Governor Monday Okpebholo for his support throughout his tenure as Speaker, stating that he had no choice but to respect the governor’s position on the matter. Reports indicated that Agbebaku had earlier been accused of failing to facilitate the clearance of a nominee put forward by the governor for an appointment, among other unspecified concerns raised by his colleagues.
Following the announcement of his resignation, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Osamwonyi Atu Osamwonyi, took over to preside over the remainder of the plenary session, during which Hon. Sunny Ojezele, representing Esan South-East Constituency, formally nominated Idiaye for the position of Speaker. The nomination was seconded by Hon. Eric Okaka, representing Owan East Constituency, after which Idiaye secured seventeen of the twenty four votes cast by members of the House, formally confirming his emergence as the new presiding officer of the Edo State House of Assembly.
Addressing journalists shortly after his emergence, Idiaye explained that his selection followed the Assembly’s longstanding zoning arrangement, under which the position of Speaker is expected to come from the Edo North Senatorial District whenever the state governor hails from Edo Central. As the oldest member representing Edo North within the Assembly, Idiaye noted that without this particular zoning arrangement, the Deputy Speaker would ordinarily have been expected to take over the position following Agbebaku’s resignation. He further explained that the change in leadership was primarily driven by dissatisfaction among lawmakers regarding what he described as poor leadership under Agbebaku, alleging that his administration had been characterised by corruption concerns and repeated adjournments, at times lasting up to thirty days without clear justification.
Idiaye stated that the decision to remove Agbebaku was ultimately taken to ensure the Assembly could function more effectively in supporting the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo going forward. Following his emergence as Speaker, members of the Assembly proceeded to the Edo State Government House to formally inform the governor of the change in legislative leadership. Agbebaku, who had served as Speaker since the Assembly’s inauguration in June 2023 and had previously defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress in May 2025, leaves office amid a period of renewed political realignment within the state legislature, with the new leadership now expected to focus on stabilising the Assembly and fostering greater cooperation among its members going forward.
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