Representative Tajudeen Abbas is the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, while the House’s former spokesman, Ben Kalu, emerged his deputy. Abbas takes over from Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila who resumed on Tuesday as Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
While Abbas from Kaduna State was sworn-in at about 2.45 p.m., Kalu took his oath of office 30 minutes later. Like in the election of Jibrin Barau from Kano State as Deputy President of the Senate, Kalu, representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, was also elected unopposed.
The process of swearing-in the other 358 members of the Lower House of the National Assembly is expected to follow in batches just as was done for 107 Senators after Godswill Akpabio and Barau were sworn-in.
Abbas and Kalu, like Akpabio and Barau, are of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).