The 24 members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly have re-elected the immediate past speaker, Rt. Hon Ibrahim Abdullahi, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress and represents Umaisha/Ugya constituency, as the speaker of the 7th Assembly.
The members also elected Hon. Abel Bala of the Peoples Democratic Party, who represents Nassarawa Eggon West constituency as the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.
The Acting Clerk of the House, Ibrahim Musa, disclosed this during the inauguration of the members of the 7th Assembly in Lafia on Friday.
The Clerk explained that the inauguration was in line with Governor Abdullahi Sule’s proclamation, and also in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In his acceptance speech, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Abdullahi, pledged to provide an all-inclusive leadership in the interest of peace and development of the state.
He said, “I want to congratulate you all, the Honourable members on your inauguration and for electing me to serve as Speaker of the 7th assembly.
“I have presided over the affairs of this Assembly in the last eight years with all sense of fairness and the fear of God. I want to assure you that I will continue in that spirit. I will also continue to operate an open door policy as I have done in the last eight years.”
While assuring the staff of the assembly of his continued readiness to improve on their welfare, the speaker expressed gratitude to Governor Abdullahi Sule for the roles he played in resolving the crisis.
“We want to also thank the Governor for renovating the House of Assembly for effective service delivery. We are going to join hands with the other arms of government to achieve speedy development across the state,” he added.
Earlier, Hon. Mohammed Oyanki (PDP- Doma North constituency) nominated Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Abdullahi for the Speakership position, and it was seconded by Hon. Larry Bawa (APC-Akwanga North constituency).
For the Deputy Speakership position, Hon. Ibrahim Peter-Akwe (PDP – Obi 1 constituency) nominated Hon. Abel Bala for the position, and it was seconded by Hon. Suleiman Azara (APC-Awe South constituency).
The Clerk thereafter, inaugurated the Speaker and Deputy Speaker while the other members of the House of Assembly were inaugurated by the Speaker.