..Journalists denied entrance to swearing-in venue
– Speaker says 21 other nominees were considered for approval
Simon Achuba, the newly sworn-in deputy governor of Kogi state and Yahaya Bello, the state governor.
Reports say Simon Achuba has been sworn in as the deputy governor of Kogi state following the approval of his nomination by the state House of Assembly.
The Punch reports that Governor Yahaya Bello had sent a letter containing his nomination as deputy governor to the legislators on Monday, 8 February for approval after weeks of deliberations.
After the endorsement of his position, Achuba was sworn in behind closed doors at the banquet hall of the government house.
Addressing journalists after the inauguration, Alhaji Momoh-Jimoh Lawal, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, said that the approval was in response to a letter by the governor seeking the House’s approval for the nomination.
Alhaji Lawal also told the journalists who were denied entrance to the venue of the inauguration, added that the request and approval of the Assembly was in consonance with Section 191 (3) (c) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) which provided for the position of a deputy governor.
According to him, the consideration of Achuba, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All progressives Congress (APC) in May, 2015 was to prevent a vacuum from being created in the state government.
The new deputy governor, before his final approval, was asked to take a bow and go following the submissions of members that as a former member of the Assembly, there was no need to subject him to rigorous screening.
Achuba was a two-time member of the Assembly having served between 1999 and 2007 and assuming the office of the Deputy Speaker of the house between 2003 and 2007.
He was also the immediate past chairman of Kogi State Environmental Protection Board.
Alongside Achuba’s confirmation, a list of 21 nominees for appointment as special advisers to the governor was also treated.
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