The political landscape of the Benue State House of Assembly was upended on Sunday, August 24, 2025, when Alfred Berger Emberga—suspended just two days earlier—emerged as the new Speaker.
Emberga, representing Makurdi North State Constituency and formerly the Assembly's spokesperson, had been suspended alongside three other lawmakers—Terna Shimawua (Kian), Cyril Ekong (Obi), and James Umoru (Apa)—for their alleged roles in a failed attempt to impeach then-Speaker Aondona Dajoh on August 21. Their suspension, announced during a heated session on Friday, August 22, followed a motion moved by Majority Leader Saater Tiseer, who warned the Assembly was on the brink of crisis.
In a sudden reversal, Dajoh resigned just two days later without explanation. His departure triggered an emergency plenary session, chaired by Deputy Speaker Lami Danaldi-Ogenyi. In a stunning sequence of events, the House lifted the suspensions and elected Emberga as the new Speaker.
Insiders described Emberga as unusually prepared—having reportedly typed and printed his acceptance speech despite being locked out of the Assembly just hours before. Once reinstated, he was sworn in and immediately delivered the speech.
Even more surprising, Majority Leader Tiseer—who had initiated the suspension—moved the motion to reverse it on Sunday, paving the way for Emberga's rapid rise to the speakership.
Meanwhile, speculation swirled about the possible involvement of Governor Hyacinth Alia in the behind-the-scenes power shift. The governor, through his Chief Press Secretary Tersoo Kula, denied any connection to Dajoh’s resignation or the internal upheaval, insisting on a “cordial and productive” relationship with the Assembly.
Adding to the intrigue, just a day before Dajoh’s resignation, the Assembly had confirmed six commissioner-nominees and rejected two others, including Professor Timothy Ornguga, whose academic credentials—particularly the alleged lack of a primary school certificate—came under intense scrutiny.
The rapid sequence of events has left political observers questioning the true dynamics at play behind the Assembly doors, as Benue navigates one of its most turbulent legislative chapters in recent memory.
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