Key Highlights
- Gbajabiamila will be resigning from his membership of the House of Representatives to focus on his new role as the Chief of Staff to the President.
- INEC will have to conduct a fresh election to fill the vacant position
The immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, is expected to tender his resignation as a lawmaker on the floor of the house today (Wednesday) barely 24 hours after he was inaugurated.
According to Channels, Gbajabiamila, who was just appointed the new Chief of Staff to the President, will have to step down in order to focus on his new assignment.
Concerns
Some concerns had been expressed in some quarters as to how the former speaker was going to combine both roles which are quite tasking given he had been inaugurated alongside his colleagues on Tuesday and had taken part in the voting process to elect the leadership of the House of Representatives.
However, the report suggests that the former speaker who is currently representing Surulere 1 Federal constituency will be resigning from the lower chamber, which means that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will have to conduct a fresh election to fill the vacant position.
What you should know
- Recall that on June 2, President Bola Tinubu appointed Femi Gbajabiamila, as his Chief of Staff, with the immediate past Minister of Special Duties and former Benue State Governor, George Akume, also appointed as the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
- Gbajabiamila in his acceptance of the new role thanked the president for finding him worthy of being his Chief of Staff promising to give his best when he assumes office on June 14.
- He said, “Having spent the last 20 years in the Nigerian Parliament, and after winning my 6th term election into the National Assembly, I shall work with Mr President in discharging the enormous task ahead of him for the peace and progress of the federal republic of Nigeria.
- “I shall give my best when I take office on June 14 2023 as reflected in Mr. President’s official letter.’’