Reasons have been attributed to the resignation of Hon. Edison Ehie as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, with loyalty cited to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Ehie, who represented Ahoada-East Constituency 2 in the House, announced his resignation from both the position of Speaker and his legislative seat in a statement issued on Sunday evening in Port Harcourt.
The resignation of the factional speaker was not noted as part of the resolutions from a peace parley held in Abuja in December 2023, which was presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While the official reasons for the resignation of the High Court-recognized speaker could not be confirmed, one speculated motive behind the move was purported to create a void in the House, given the absence of a Deputy Speaker to assume the role.
Another speculated reason was to potentially facilitate his appointment as the chief of staff to the governor, despite the current chief of staff, Hon. Chidi Amadi, not having resigned from his position.
Another suggested reason for Ehie’s resignation was to potentially enable the National Assembly to assume control of the Rivers State House of Assembly, given its current composition of only five members.
Credit: Leadership