The Edo State House of Assembly has witnessed a significant political shake-up, resulting in the removal of three key members from their leadership positions. Natasha Osawaru, representing the Egor constituency for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been removed from her role, along with the former Majority Leader, Charity Aiguobarueghian, and the former Chief Whip, Yekini Idaiye.
This restructuring of the Assembly’s leadership follows a recent shift in the balance of power. Earlier this week, four PDP lawmakers defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), effectively granting the APC the majority in the House. This change in majority triggered a reorganization of several key leadership roles within the Assembly.
Despite the shift in power, two PDP members, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku and Hon. Maria Edeko, have retained their positions as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House, respectively.
According to reports from Daily Trust, the new leadership appointments were made official following a letter from the acting state chairman of the APC, Jarret Tenebe, formally informing the Assembly of the APC’s newly acquired majority status.
Speaker Agbebaku subsequently announced the filling of the vacant leadership positions with APC lawmakers. Hon. Ibhamawu Jonathan Aigbokhan, representing Esan West, has been appointed as the new Majority Leader. Hon. Addeh Emakhu Isibor from Esan North-East I has taken on the role of Deputy Leader, and Hon. Lecky Hussein Mustapha, representing Etsako West I, is the new Chief Whip.
Speaker Agbebaku also indicated that the PDP is expected to submit a new list of nominees to fill other leadership roles within the Assembly, now that they are the minority party. He further noted that even his position as Speaker and that of the Deputy Speaker might be subject to review in due course.
Meanwhile, amidst these political developments, the name of Natasha Osawaru has also been prominent in the news for personal reasons. Following Nigerian music icon 2Face Idibia’s confirmation of their relationship earlier this year, shortly after announcing his separation from his wife Annie Idibia, the lawmaker has been under intense public scrutiny. In February, 2Baba reportedly proposed to Osawaru, stating that his new relationship was unrelated to his marital issues. Adding further fuel to the public conversation, Natasha Osawaru recently updated her Instagram bio to include the singer�s last name, coinciding with Annie Idibia’s removal of his last name from her own profile and reverting to her maiden name. This confluence of political and personal headlines has kept Natasha Osawaru firmly in the public eye.
