Edo State House Impeaches Former Speaker Blessing Agbebaku

The Edo State House of Assembly formally impeached former Speaker Blessing Agbebaku during a plenary session in Benin City on August 24, 2026. The House rejected Agbebaku's purported resignation from August 17, 2026, with Majority Leader Ojezele Osezua Sunday arguing that the resignation letter was not formally received or processed according to parliamentary procedure. The motion for impeachment was supported by a majority of lawmakers, including 17 members who signed the impeachment notice.

Following the vote, Speaker Yekini Idaiye ordered Agbebaku to return all House property by Friday, threatening the involvement of law enforcement agencies if he fails to comply. This formal removal follows a period of instability where Agbebaku faced allegations of corruption and high-handedness.

Prior to the impeachment, political stakeholders from the Owan federal constituency, led by Gordie Aigbodion, condemned Agbebaku's initial exit. These stakeholders alleged that the resignation was not voluntary but the result of backroom intimidation and executive arm-twisting by the state's executive branch. Aigbodion characterized the leadership change as part of a broader pattern of political marginalization against the Owan West and Owan East Local Government Areas and called for an emergency stakeholders' summit to protect the interests of the Owan people.