Sat. Aug 30th, 2025

Governor Alia

Benue Assembly Denies Governor’s Role in Speaker’s Resignation, Stresses Independence

By Dele Fashomi 5 days ago

The Benue State House of Assembly has stated that the resignation of its Speaker, Aondona Dajoh, was a matter of personal principle and not the result of any interference from Governor Hyacinth Alia.

According to Assembly spokesperson, Elias Audu, the lawmakers are “independent-minded” and cannot be forced into action. He insisted that the governor’s interests, if any, were unknown to the Assembly. Audu described the resignation as the “collective will of members” and a voluntary decision by Dajoh to step down after having “come, seen, and conquered” for the state’s development.

The process to elect a new Speaker, Honourable Berger Emberga, was reported as peaceful and unanimous.

Audu highlighted the Assembly’s independence, noting its previous rejection of a gubernatorial nominee and its willingness to oppose the governor’s policies if they are not in the public interest.

Governor Alia has also denied any involvement in the Speaker’s resignation or an alleged Assembly crisis, reaffirming his focus on Benue’s development and his cordial relationship with the lawmakers.

Emberga, who was recently suspended over an impeachment plot allegation, has now been elected Speaker and has pledged to collaborate with all members for the state’s progress.

In a related development, the Assembly last week rejected the nomination of Prof. Timothy Ornguga as a commissioner due to multiple petitions against him, including an allegation that he lacked a primary school certificate. Lawmakers have requested that the governor submit replacement nominees.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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