Following the appointment of Tunji Olubunmi-Ojo and Tanko Sununu, members of the House of Representatives, as the ministers appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, on Tuesday, at the resume of plenary, declared the seats of two lawmakers vacant.
Olubunmi-Ojo represented Akoko north-east/ Akoko north-west of Ondo state and was appointed as minister of interior, while Sununu represented Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski federal constituency of Katsina and was appointed as minister of state for education.
The former lawmakers’ seat was declared vacant by the speaker following their resignation letters presented to the House of Representatives during plenary.
The declaration of the seats vacant by the speaker is in line with section 68 of the 1999 constitution, which states that: “(1) A member of the Senate or the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if -he becomes President, Vice-President, Governor, Deputy Governor or a Minister of the Government of the Federation or a Commissioner of the Government of a State or a Special Adviser.”
In June, Femi Gbajabiamila, former speaker of the house, resigned as a member of the 10th House of Representatives after Tinubu appointed him as his chief of staff. His seat was thereafter declared vacant.
Meanwhile, Salisu Majigiri, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been sworn in as a member of the house.
Majigiri was declared the winner of the 25 February election to represent the Mashi/Dutsi federal constituency of Katsina after he polled 27,387 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mansir Ali of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 20,596 votes.
However, his candidacy faced opposition from Nazifi Yusuf, a PDP member, who took the dispute to the Supreme Court, where his victory was confirmed.