Posted by 
The emergence of a member of the Benue State House of Representatives, representing Gboko West constituency, Hyacinth Aondona Dajoh as the Speaker of the 10th Assembly, was rather a tough one as he battled it out with his opponent, Mrs Beckie Orpin.
Naija News reports that both lawmakers who are first-time lawmakers and belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC) battled it out in two rounds of voting before a winner emerged.
It was gathered that Dajoh won with 17 votes in a runoff election against 15 votes polled by his opponent, Orpin, a member representing Gboko-East after they both secured 16 votes each after a secret ballot in the first election by 32 members of the Benue Assembly.
The APC has the majority of 22 in the House, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has nine and the Labour Party (LP) has one.
According to Daily Trust, there were underground activities in favour of the emergence of a male Speaker, also it was said that a former governor of the state on the platform of the PDP was solidly behind Dajoh’s quest to become Speaker.
The State Working Committee of the APC, at its last held meeting on June 4 resolved to pick Orpin as the party’s leadership choice, however, party stakeholders were hot happy with the decision, as most of them rooted for Dajoh.
The APC in the state was reported to have been divided over the matter as some members said the choice of Orpin was influenced by a ‘big man’ in the state.
At the June 4 meeting, the APC chairman, Comrade Austin Agada in the state warned against anti-party activities.
He was quoted to have said “The State Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, today, June 4, 2023, during a stakeholder meeting at the party secretariat in Makurdi, in consultation with leaders and stakeholders on zoning arrangement, noted that with respect to the outcome of the meeting, which has zoned the Office of the Speaker of the 10th Benue Assembly to Zone B, Chief Mrs Beckie Torkwase Orpin (Gboko-East) was chosen as the party’s consensus candidate.
“We urge our party leaders, members and the people of Benue State to continue to support our party in this period of transition, bearing in mind that it is for the good of the good people of the state.”
But in a twist of event, on Monday, the day of the inauguration, while the lawmakers-elect were preparing to be sworn in, 18 of them, who were mainly PDP members, alongside some of their APC counterparts, reportedly met with Governor Hyacinth Alia at the Government House in Makurdi, saying he should be allowed to decide who emerges Speaker.
This platform understands the keenly contested election, which was characterised by tension and rowdiness shortly after the governor proclaimed the new Assembly divided the APC into two factions.
The APC chairman with his supporters was said to be on one side watching the event from the gallery of the Assembly complex, while the governor and those on his side, including his newly appointed chief of staff, a former lawmaker, Paul Biam, also observed the situation.
It was widely believed that Dajoh, who was nominated by Shimawua Terna Emmanuel, who represents the Kyan constituency in Vandeikya Local Government Area and seconded by Lami Danladi, who represents the Ado constituency, had the backing of the governor.
On the other hand, Orpin, who was nominated by Manger McClinton, representing the Tarka constituency and seconded by Cephas Dyako of the Labour Party, representing the Konshisha constituency, had the backing of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume and the APC leadership in the state.
Dyako subsequently demanded that Governor Alia and his entourage should excuse the House before the second election would commence.
Dyako, a second-term member said by their (Governor) presence, the House was put under pressure to do the bidding of the executive.
Following commotion after Dyako’s demand that the governor leave, the governor left immediately and Dajoh emerged as the winner of the second election.
The Assembly also nominated a member representing the Ado constituency, Mrs Lami Danladi to emerge unopposed as the Deputy Speaker of the House.
Meanwhile, supporters of Akume believe that the governor was too hasty in influencing the outcome of the election, arguing that the choice of the leader of the party in Benue/the North Central ought to be respected since he singlehandedly ensured the emergence of the clergy as the governor of the state.
On the other hand, Alia’s supporters believe that the governor should be allowed to rule the state in his capacity and not be controlled if he must excel in the mandate handed to him, largely because of his popularity, which coasted to victory for the APC.
The post Details Of How Two New Lawmakers Battled For Benue Speakership Emerges appeared first on Naija News.
