A day after being sworn-in as member of the 10th Assembly, Femi Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has resigned from the 10th House to take up his new position as the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu.
His letter of resignation was read by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, on Wednesday, during plenary and subsequently declared Surulere I Federal Constituency vacant in line with section 68 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Section 68 of the 1999 constitution provides that a “Member of the Senate or of 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.”
Mr Gbajabiamila was announced as the chief of staff on 2 June by Mr Tinubu; however, the letter was dated 14 June.
He was sworn in alongside 358 other members-elect on Tuesday for his sixth term. He also voted during the election of his successor.
The former speaker was first elected to the lower chamber in 2003 and had been its member for 20 years until his appointment.
Shortly before his resignation letter was read, Mr Gbajabiamila, who was the speaker of the 9th House from 2019-2023, moved a motion on flooding in Nigeria. The motion called for urgent intervention by the federal government to mitigate flooding in Nigeria.
