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… Congratulates New Assembly Speaker
By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, has congratulated the new Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abraham Ngobere, and other principal officers of the legislature.
Rt. Hon. Ngobere, who was the deputy speaker, was elected on Wednesday shortly after the former speaker, Rt. Hon. Monday Bobou Edwin-Obolo, stepped down.
Hon. Michael Ogbere emerged the deputy speaker, Hon. Monday Obolo-Bobou, leader, Hon. Bernard Kenebai, deputy leader while Mrs. Ebiwou Koku-Obiyai and Hon. Gibson Munalayefa are chief whip and deputy chief whip respectively.
Governor Diri while receiving the new Speaker and other principal officers on Wednesday in his office at Government House, congratulated the legislature for the peaceful manner it conducted the change, devoid of any acrimony.
In a statement by the head of press, Government House, Yenagoa, Mr. Ebi Avi, the governor noted that the manner with which the legislature effected the change in leadership was a reflection of the new spirit of Bayelsa, which is hinged on love, understanding and conviviality.
“This is the new spirit of Bayelsa, the spirit of love, understanding and conviviality. The House of Assembly has just performed a sacred duty that in other climes is a turbulent exercise to perform. But there was no turbulence from the report I got, it was a unanimous decision.
I congratulate you all and know that you have gone into some very big shoes. There is no majority-minority feud in the Assembly,” he said.
He pointed out that, the Assembly was not a rubber stamp, as it was being speculated in some quarters, stressing that legislative arm remains a very critical stakeholder in the developmental process of any society.
According to Senator Diri, the Assembly deserves praise, as the adjustment of positions could have led to acrimony or feud as witnessed in other climes.
He reminded them that they were elected to represent the people and not to antagonize the executive, or themselves, but rather to bring development closer to their constituents.
The governor prayed God to grant them the wisdom and vision to serve and build Bayelsa State to an enviable position.
“You were elected to represent your people and doing this on the floor, bringing issues and challenges of your people and bringing development to your people, not elected to be antagonistic to each other of the executive arm of government,” he said.
In an introductory remark, the immediate past Speaker, Hon. Monday Edwin-Obolo, explained that, he stepped aside in the spirit of equity and fairness as well as to enable the adjustment of key positions in the government.
He noted that the exercise was customary in the Peoples Democratic Party, where the position of the governor, deputy governor and the speaker are distributed among the three senatorial districts.
Rt. Hon. Edwin-Obolo also disclosed that due consultation was carried out with key stakeholders, with both the PDP and APC members in agreement.
He added that the visit was to present the new leadership to governor, in order to allow the new administration carry out the policies of the state.
Rt. Hon. Abraham Ngobere, attributed his emergence as the new Speaker to the governor’s victory at the Supreme Court on February 13, 2020.
He said that the legislature and executive have enjoyed a smooth working relationship, owing to the capacity of the members, who served in various institutions before now.
He said that members of the house have the legislative proficiency to handle bills sent to it by the executive, which is one of the basic principles in a democracy.
He however assured that bills would not be delayed to ensure that the needed development of the people, adding that the Assembly will continue to work in harmony with the other arms of government.
