Edo Assembly Speaker Agbebaku Resigns as Impeachment Push Gathers Pace, Idiaye Elected Successor
The Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, resigned from office on Monday during a tense plenary session, hours after reports emerged that a majority of lawmakers had signed a notice to impeach him. His media aide, Ivy Ebojele, confirmed the resignation in a statement, saying further details would be released later. Agbebaku’s spokeswoman separately told journalists he stepped down for personal reasons and to allow peace to return to the House. Following his exit, Deputy Speaker Atu Osamwonyi briefly presided before lawmakers elected Yekini Idiaye, representing Akoko Edo Constituency I, as the new Speaker. Idiaye accused the former Speaker of poor leadership and alleged corruption, including inflated costs on vehicle procurement, and the Assembly moved swiftly to suspend Agbebaku pending investigation. Reports indicate seventeen of the chamber’s twenty four lawmakers had backed the impeachment notice. Agbebaku, who represents Owan West Constituency, became Speaker of the eighth Assembly in June 2023 and survived an earlier removal attempt in May 2024, when he suspended three lawmakers he accused of plotting against him. He defected from the PDP to the APC in May 2025 while still in office. The Assembly also replaced its Majority and Minority Leaders in the same sitting, reshaping the chamber’s leadership. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed
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