Lawmakers at the Kogi State House of Assembly have elected Honourable Mathew Kolawole as the new speaker of the House, following the resignation of Honourable Umar Ahmed Imam.
Kolawole, the member representing Kabba/Bunu constituency, was elected on Thursday during a session attended by 20 out of 25 members of the Assembly.
Honourable Hassan Abdullahi who represents Dekina/Okura constituency, however, remained the Deputy Speaker even as the sitting was held under a water-tight security.
The sitting began when the Clerk of the House, Mr Tseja Saidu read out the resignation letter from the former Speaker dated August 3, 2017.
According to the letter, Honourable Imam said he decided to resign to avert plunging the state into another round of crisis.
Consequently, Honourable Kolawole was nominated and seconded after which he took the oath of office and allegiance, as well as read his acceptance speech.
The Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Hassan Abdullahi congratulated the new Speaker. He stated that “whatever has transpired here today is not by accident”. He appreciated Rt. Hon. Imam for his love and show of maturity adding that his leadership style was near perfection.
“If we are to tell one another the truth, we have lost a leader in Rt. Hon. Imam”, he said.
He urged the new Speaker to borrow from the leadership style of Rt. Hon. Imam because of his transparency and advised him to work hard to win the hearts and trust of members so that tomorrow will speak for him.
The new Speaker expressed gratitude to the lawmakers for reposing confidence in him and assured them that he would take the Assembly to an enviable height.
In his address, the deputy speaker urged the new speaker to be transparent and carry members along even as he described the tenure of the former speaker as eventful.
