In a swift leadership shake-up that has sparked political waves in Edo State, Natasha Osawaru Irobosa, popularly known as the lover of music legend Tuface Idibia, has been removed from her position as Deputy Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly.
The reshuffle, which took place on Monday, retained Blessing Agbebaku and Maria Edeko as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively, even as the All Progressives Congress (APC) tightened its grip on the House.
Speaker Agbebaku read a letter from the APC’s acting state chairman, Jarret Tenebe, notifying the House of the party’s majority status and nominating new principal officers. This led to the immediate removal of PDP members Charity Aiguobarueghian (Ovia North-East I), Natasha Osawaru (Egor), and Yekini Idaiye (Akoko-Edo I), who previously served as Majority Leader, Deputy Leader, and Chief Whip, respectively.
In their place, the APC installed Hon. Ibhamawu Jonathan Aigbokhan (Esan West) as Majority Leader, Hon. Emakhu Addeh Isibor (Esan North-East I) as Deputy Majority Leader, and Hon. Lecky Hussein Mustapha (Etsako West I) as Chief Whip.
A controversial twist came with the cancellation of the Deputy Chief Whip position initially assigned to Richard Edosa, a former Labour Party member who recently defected to the APC. The role was scrapped as it was deemed non-existent in the House structure.
While the PDP still retains the top two leadership positions, Speaker Agbebaku noted that even his role and that of the Deputy Speaker were not immune to the ongoing political reshuffling, hinting at possible further changes.
He added that the PDP would soon submit its list of nominees for principal positions in the new power alignment.
