Chaos erupted at the Benue State House of Assembly as members engaged in a heated exchange during the election of the assembly’s speaker, according to reports.
TRACKNEWS reports that Monday’s session commenced with the inauguration of the 10th assembly by Governor Hyacinth Alia.
This paved the way for the 32 assembly members to elect a speaker and deputy speaker.
The position of the speaker had been designated for Gboko Local Government Area (LGA), which falls under Benue North-West.
It should be noted that Governor Alia hails from Vandeikya LGA in Benue North-East, while the Deputy Governor represents Otukpo LGA in Benue South Senatorial District.
This newspaper learnt that two candidates emerged for the position of the speaker: Becky Orpine, representing Gboko East, and Aondonna Hyacinth Dajo, the member representing Gboko West.
Orpine was nominated as the party’s choice by the Pro-George Akume camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which enjoys support from the State Working Committee.
Her opponent, Dajo, garnered the support of Governor Alia and his loyalists within the APC in the state.
During the initial ballot, both candidates received an equal number of votes, with 16 each. The assembly’s clerk announced that another round of voting would be necessary.
Cephas Diako, the representative of Konshisha Constituency and the sole member of the Labour Party, proposed that the subsequent election should be conducted without the presence of the governor, the senator-elect for Benue North-West, and the party leadership.
Diako argued that the presence of these individuals exerted undue pressure on the members, potentially influencing their voting decisions.
Following a 10-minute break, the house reconvened for the next round of voting, allowing members to consult with one another regarding their choice for speaker.
However, as the second round of voting commenced, a tumultuous scene unfolded, with members engaging in a noisy shouting match. The commotion erupted over allegations of certain members attempting to sway their colleagues towards a particular candidate through undue influence.
For several minutes, supporters of both the pro-Akume and pro-Alia factions, who backed their respective nominees, vehemently called for the cancellation of the second round of voting due to perceived interference in the electoral process.
More details coming…
