By Ken Afor
Babayo Akuyam has been voted in as Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, coming from Hardawa Constituency in Misau Local Government Area.
Also, Ahmed Abdullahi, from Dass Constituency in Dass LGA, was voted in as Deputy Speaker by the House.
Hon. Akuyam’s emergence as new speaker came following the nomination by Auwal Hassan, the representative from Shira Constituency, and seconded by Ibrahim from Burra Tanko.
Both Hon. Akuyam and his Deputy Abdullahi were sworn in by the Clerk of the House, Umar Gital.
It would be recalled that the Appeal Court in Abuja a few days ago, ordered the former Speaker, Abubakar Suleiman, representing Ningi Central Constituency to vacate the seat.
Suleiman, who chaired the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) winner of the Ningi Central Constituency election in the March 18 poll.
Suleiman polled 16, 866 votes to defeat Khalid Abdulmalik-Ningi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 15, 065 votes.
Dissatisfied with INEC’s declaration of Suleiman, Abdulmalik-Ningi, headed to the Bauchi State Governorship and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal to tender his petition.
But the ruling of the tribunal went out of his favour following the dismissal of his petition and affirmation of Suleiman, winner of the poll and returned for a second term in office.
Meanwhile, the APC candidate was not pleased with the tribunal’s decision and thus, took the matter to the Court of Appeal.
The appellate court’s three-man panel then overruled the tribunal’s judgment, mandating INEC to organize a rerun in 10 voting units.
Only three days following the removal of Suleiman, the court also removed his deputy, Jamilu Barade, a PDP member from Bauchi Central Constituency, and made the call for a rerun in select polling units.
