The Edo State House of Assembly has removed Hon. Natasha Osawaru Irobosa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from her position as Minority Leader, alongside Charity Aiguobarueghian, the Majority Leader. However, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku and Maria Edeko, both PDP members, retained their positions as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively.
Additionally, Hon. Yekini Idaiye, also from the PDP, was dismissed as the Chief Whip. These changes followed a letter from the Acting Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Jarret Tenebe, after four PDP lawmakers defected to the APC, causing the PDP to lose its majority status in the assembly.
The Speaker announced that the new principal officers include Hon. Ibhamawu Jonathan Aigbokhan (APC) as Majority Leader, Hon. Addeh Emakhu Isibor (APC) as Deputy Leader, and Hon. Lecky Hussein Mustapha (APC) as Chief Whip. The PDP is expected to submit its own list of principal officer nominees, while Agbebaku noted that the future of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker roles may be uncertain.
Natasha Osawaru is a lawyer and daughter of the former Governor of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbinedion. Her grandfather is the business mogul and Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion.
