Eight additional commissioner-nominees whose names were forwarded to the Edo State House of Assembly by Governor Monday Okpebholo, have been cleared, with the Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku criticising the gender imbalance in the nominations so far, promising to raise it with the governor.
This followed their screening by the House Committee on Rules, Business and Government House which came out with 11 findings and a single recommendation for confirmation which were accepted by the members.
Out of the eight newly confirmed commissioners, only one, Eugenia Abdallah, is a woman. She joins Marie Olabisi-Idaomi, the commissioner for Women Affairs, in the cabinet.
Newsmata.com.ng recalls that Senator Okpebholo had on November 12, 2024, the day he was sworn in as governor, appointed Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole, son of the former governor of the state as commissioner for Health, and Dr. Samson Osagie as Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice.
This was followed on Monday January 21, 2025, with the swearing-in of additional six commissioners who were assigned portfolios the following day. They are Paul Ohonbamu – Ministry of Information and Communications; Dr Washington Osifo – Ministry of Water Resources and Energy; and Dr. Emmanuel Paddy Iyamu – Ministry of Education.
Others are Lucky Eseigbe – Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Andrew Ijegbai – Ministry of Mining; and Marie Olabisi-Idaomi – Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.
The clearance of the latest eight nominees brings to 16 the number of commissioners in Okpebholo’s cabinet.
The Clerk of the House, Yahaya Audu Omogbai, had on resumption of plenary on Monday after a two-week recess to allow completion of pending committee assignments, read Governor Okpebholo’s letter seeking the screening and confirmation of eight commissioner-nominees, namely: Nosa Adams, a lawyer and former Egor local government chairman, Yakubu Musa, Dr. Felix Akhabue, and Omorodion Ikponwosa, an engineer. Others are Ohimai Ehigimetor, Eugenia Abdallah, the only female nominee, Godwin Eshieshi, former chairman, Etsako East local government council, and Kassim Afegbua, former commissioner for Information.
Clearing the eight nominees, Speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku, said they were all were found to be indigenes, competent and experienced, and are qualified to be commissioners.
Charging them to be proactive and work in synergy with the state governor to ensure that Edo State moves forward, Agbebaku however frowned at what he termed gender imbalance as among the eight commissioner nominees, only one was a female.
In a voice vote, majority of the lawmakers moved in favour that the commissioner nominees be cleared.
Also on Wednesday, the House set up a five-man committee of members to look into a petition titled ‘The unserious handling of a criminal case reported against one Apst. Samuel Adeyamo’ by officers of the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Benin Zonal Office.