A fresh member of the Plateau State House of Assembly representing Jos East constituency, and 500 level Law student of University of Jos, Ayuba Nuhu Abok, has emerged Speaker of the ninth Assembly.
Born in 1986, Abok, a father of two, holds a diploma in Law.
Abok was nominated by Ibrahim Baba Hassan, a member representing Jos North-North constituency who was one time a Deputy Speaker of the House.
This was seconded by a first timer, Mrs. Esther Dusu, a member representing Jos North-West.
Thereafter, Abok was given the opportunity to either accept or reject the nomination. The floor was then opened for other nominations. But there was no other nomination from the lawmakers and he was elected speaker unopposed.
He was then presented to the members and all unanimously voted for him without exception. It was like an arranged election where there was no dissenting voice at all.
Before the election, Baba Hassan had been touted as the likely Speaker because he is the oldest member in the house who has garnered sufficient experience to pilot the affairs of the House.
But some intrigues soon came into play when Plateau factors were considered. Hassan is believed to be a settler and therefore could not occupy such sensitive position as number three citizen of the state.
Hassan is also believed to be carrying a baggage of forged certificate. A Federal High Court in Jos had ruled in a case brought before it against Hassan, that the lawmaker used a forged certificate to win election into the House in the eighth Assembly.
With these forces standing against him, the process for the emergence of Abok was believed to have been simply doctored to ensure that Hassan does not emerge as the speaker. – Thisday.
