After being sworn-in as Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Femi Gbajabiamila as his Chief of Staff (CoS) and George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Gbajabiamila, who served in the ninth assembly as the speaker of the house of representatives, had been re-elected to serve in the 10th National Assembly as a member representing Surulere Federal Constituency I when the appointment from Tinubu came.
The assumption of Gbajabiamila’s new role as Chief of Staff left the people of Surulere Federal Constituency I without a representative at the Federal House Representatives.
Gbajabiamila was, however, not the only 10th National Assembly member Tinubu pulled from the national assembly. The president also pulled four others from their positions in the legislature and made them ministers.
Here are their names:
DAVE UMAHI
David Umahi served as the governor of Ebonyi State from 2015 to 2023.
After leaving office, he was elected as the senator to represent Ebonyi South Senatorial District in the 10th assembly before getting appointed by the president to serve in his cabinet as the Minister of Works.
IBRAHIM GEIDAM
Ibrahim Geidam served as the governor of Yobe State between 2009 and 2019. After leaving office in 2019, Geidam went on to serve as the senator representing Yobe East Senatorial District between 2019 and 2023.
He was re-elected on February 25 and was about serving for another four years as a senator in the 10th assembly when he got appointed as the Minister of Police Affairs.
TANKO SUNUNU
Tanko Sununu represented Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency, Kebbi State before he was appointed by the Tinubu-led government as the Minister of State for Education.
OLUBUNMI TUNJI-OJO
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo was the member representing Akoko North-East/ North-West Federal Constituency, Ondo State, before he was appointed as Minister of Interior by Tinubu.
While a handful of political experts in the country have criticised and deemed the appointment of these legislative members as wasteful due to what it would cost Nigeria to organise a supplementary election to fill their vacant seats, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to announce a date for the exercise.
