The Edo State House of Assembly has formally impeached its immediate past Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, days after he announced his resignation from the position.
The development took place on Monday, August 24, 2026, during plenary in Benin City, where lawmakers rejected the earlier claim that Agbebaku had resigned from office.
Instead, the House resolved that the former Speaker should be removed through impeachment.
The decision has now added a new twist to the leadership crisis that has been unfolding in the Edo Assembly since Agbebaku left office last week.
The Majority Leader, Sunday Ojezele, representing Esan South-East Constituency, moved the motion for Agbebaku’s impeachment.
Ojezele told the lawmakers that the House had not received any formal resignation letter from Agbebaku.
He argued that the manner in which the former Speaker announced his departure did not meet the requirements of parliamentary procedure.
According to him, the verbal resignation process “was unknown to parliamentary practices and did not conform with parliamentary procedures”.
The motion received the backing of the majority of lawmakers present.
Ojezele thereafter submitted the impeachment letter to the Clerk of the House, Yahaya Omogbai, for onward transmission to the Speaker, Yekini Idiaye.
The move effectively reversed the position taken by the Assembly on August 17, when Agbebaku announced his resignation during plenary.
At that sitting, Yekini Idiaye emerged as the new Speaker after Agbebaku’s exit.
The former Speaker, who represents Owan West Constituency, had stepped down amid growing pressure and reported moves by lawmakers to remove him.
The situation, however, has now been formally reframed by the Assembly as an impeachment.
Idiaye, while speaking during Monday’s proceedings, said the former Speaker remained suspended.
He also condemned what he described as Agbebaku’s “worrisome and unwarranted attitude”.
The new Speaker directed Agbebaku to return all property belonging to the House that remained in his possession.
He gave the former Speaker until Friday to comply with the directive.
Idiaye warned that security agencies would be called in if Agbebaku failed to obey the order.
In a related development, the latest action against Agbebaku follows a dramatic leadership change in the Edo State House of Assembly on Monday, August 17, 2026.
On that day, Agbebaku announced his resignation as Speaker during plenary.
His resignation came after reports that lawmakers had been preparing to impeach him.
At the time, reports indicated that a significant number of members had backed moves to remove him from office.
Agbebaku, however, presented his decision as one taken in the interest of peace.
Speaking before the leadership change, he said he had been asked to resign and decided to respect the decision.
“I agree with all of you. The process is that today I have been asked to resign. Because of that, I was supposed to lead the procession here to resign on the red chair.”
He also rejected the idea that the position of Speaker was something he had to hold at all costs.
“I was not born to be a speaker. I think today I am standing here as a hero,” he said.
Agbebaku further referred to the need to maintain peace in the state while explaining his decision.
“If he has a decision contrary to giving his government a peaceful trade deal, I think I have no choice but to obey his decision.”
He concluded his remarks by saying: “We want peace in the state. And I have resigned.”
Following his exit, the Assembly elected Yekini Idiaye as Speaker.
Idiaye, who represents Akoko-Edo Constituency I, is a third-term member of the House and was selected to lead the legislature after Agbebaku’s departure.
His emergence came amid a major reshuffling of the Assembly’s leadership structure.
Sunday Ojezele became Majority Leader, while other principal offices were also changed.
The new Speaker later gave his own account of why Agbebaku was removed.
Speaking to journalists after his emergence on August 17, Idiaye accused the former Speaker of poor leadership and alleged corruption within the Assembly.
He said the legislature had struggled under Agbebaku’s leadership since the inauguration of the eighth Assembly in 2023.
“The House was inaugurated on the 16th of June, 2023 under the leadership of Agbebaku, and since then we have been passing through a lot of challenges, corruption here and there, adjournment here and there, sometimes for 30 days without a cause.”
Idiaye said the situation had created dissatisfaction among lawmakers.
“We are not happy with his leadership style. His leadership is poor and it has been drawing the work of the government backwards.”
He added that the lawmakers had decided to make a change.
“That is why we removed him. We must encourage our performing governor. He is doing well; anything that will derail or stop our performing governor, we must stop it.”
Idiaye promised that the new leadership would support the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo while focusing on the legislative responsibilities of the House.
“I can assure all of you that we will do everything possible to support Governor Monday Okpebholo to move this state forward.”
The new Speaker also raised allegations concerning the management of Assembly resources, including procurement of official vehicles.
Those allegations were followed by the establishment of a five-member ad hoc committee to examine issues surrounding the former Speaker’s administration.
The committee was inaugurated on August 18, 2026, with Bright Iyamu, representing Orhionmwon South, as chairman.
Iyamu said the investigation would not be used as a tool for political revenge.
He described the process as part of democratic accountability.
“Firstly, I want to let you know that it is nothing like a witch-hunt. What you are seeing today, I would say, is the beauty of democracy.”
He also said the committee would examine the financial activities of the Assembly, including the procurement of vehicles.
“For the Speaker, we are all one in the House of Assembly, but that does not mean we cannot do what we are asked to do.”
Iyamu promised that the committee would conduct its work openly.
“We will make everybody understand that this is an open policy. We are not trying to pay him back or whatever,” he said.