Aondona Dajoh Emerges As Benue State Assembly Speaker

The 10th Benue State House of Assembly on Monday elected the member representing Gboko West member, Aondona  Dajoh, as its speaker after a competitive three rounds of voting.

The session had begun with Governor Hyacinth Alia inaugurating the 10th assembly, paving the way for its 32 members to elect a speaker and deputy speaker.

Dajoh had the backing of the governor and his APC loyalists in the state. In his nomination acceptance speech, he urged members to vote for him, describing himself as a humble man who is flexible to work with.

On her part,  Becky Orpine representing Gboko East, who was nominated by the Pro-George Akume camp of the APC and had the backing of the State Working Committee, also campaigned for support.

She is the only two female lawmakers elected to the 10th assembly, having canvassed for support for women in politics in her nomination acceptance speech.

The position of speaker was zoned to Gboko LGA which is Benue North-West. The governor is from Vandeikya LGA of Benue North-East, while the Deputy Governor is from Otukpo LGA of Benue South Senatorial District.

At the first ballot which ended around 11:28 am, the two candidates were tied at 16 votes each with the clerk of the assembly noting that there would be another round of voting.

The representative of Konshisha Constituency and only member of the Labour Party, Cephas Diako, called for the next round of election to be held without the governor, the senator-elect for Benue North-West, and the party leadership.

According to him, the presence of the three put pressure on the members to vote for the trio’s preferred candidates.

The house proceeded on a 10-minute break to reconvene for another round of voting for the position of speaker, allowing members to consult one another on who to vote for as speaker.

However, when the second round of voting commenced, there was a shouting match among members over an alleged plot by some members attempting to influence other members to vote for a particular candidate as speaker.

For several minutes, pro-Akume and pro-Alia supporters backing their respective nominees for the position of speaker loudly called for the cancellation of the second round of voting over alleged influence on the voting process.

After the third round of voting, counting immediately commenced, ending with 15 votes for Orpine and 17 for Dajoh, making him the elected speaker of the 10th assembly.