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The Edo State House of Assembly has refused to accept the resignation of its former Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, choosing instead to declare him impeached just over a week after he initially stepped down from the position.
Agbebaku, who serves as the representative for Owan West Constituency, had previously resigned on Monday, August 17, 2026, amid mounting pressure and threats of an impending impeachment by his fellow lawmakers.
In the wake of that resignation, the legislative body took further disciplinary steps by suspending him indefinitely and stripping principal officers Jonathan Ibhamawu and Addeh Emankhu Isibor of their positions as Majority Leader and Deputy Majority Leader, respectively.
To fill the leadership void, lawmakers elected Hon. Yekini Idiaye, representing Akoko-Edo Constituency I, to step in as the new Speaker of the House.
However, during a reconvened session on Monday, Speaker Idiaye clarified that the initial impeachment notice targeting Agbebaku carried signatures from 17 out of the total 24 assembly members.
He noted that the Majority Leader had formally introduced the impeachment paperwork during the preceding Monday’s plenary meeting.
According to Idiaye, Agbebaku’s voluntary resignation was effectively superseded and converted into an official impeachment because the disciplinary notice had not yet been formally tabled or recorded before his suspension took effect.
He formally announced to the assembly that Agbebaku was removed through impeachment rather than leaving office on his own terms.
Following Idiaye’s formal declaration, Majority Leader Hon. Sunny Ojiezele put forward a motion calling for Agbebaku’s official removal, which received a second from Hon. Ahmed Waziri.
The Speaker then instructed Agbebaku to hand over all state assets and government property currently in his custody.
He cautioned that law enforcement and security agencies would be brought in if the former Speaker failed to return the items or ignored the assembly’s directive.
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