By Femi Bolaji

Jalingo —Members elect for various state constituencies into Taraba State House of Assembly, TSHA,  will on Monday, June 3, be inaugurated.

The outgoing speaker of the 8th assembly, Peter Diah who disclosed this to newsmen at the weekend, said the move followed the dissolution of the 8th assembly last week Thursday.

The members elect who were recently inducted and trained on their roles as representatives of their constituents, according to Diah, are duly prepared for the task ahead.

Diah, who represents Mbamnga constituency and was reelected for the fifth time in the 2019 election,  may retain his seat as the speaker of TSHA.

The inauguration which will usher in the election of principal officers for the 9th assembly places Diah in a vantage position to swing votes on his side.

Vanguard’s findings also reveal that none of the members elect have openly showed interest to contest the position.

If Diah eventually emerges the speaker of the 9th assembly, it will be the third time he would assume the position.

Recall that in 2015, Diah after inauguration of the 8th assembly was elected Speaker of the house, but was later stripped of the position by the verdict of an appeal court seating in Yola, which ordered for a re-run of the election that brought him in as member elect for Mbamnga constituency for the fourth time.

This led to assumption of the Speaker’s position by another member of the house, Mark Useni, who later resigned the position in 2016, after Diah was returned reelected, following his victory at the rerun election.

On return to the House, Diah was inaugurated again as the Speaker, which he occupied till the end of the 8th assembly on March 30, 2019.

What will count for Diah aside being the longest serving member in TSHA are his wealth of experience as a leader in various capacity and the overwhelming support he has enjoyed from members of the 8th assembly, who were mostly returned to the 9th assembly.

Besides,  he had served as Deputy speaker in the 7th Assembly, and his closeness to Governor Darius Ishaku is also a plus.

Diah who is the current Vice Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislators in Nigeria, is also a member of the Presidential Committee on the Implementation of State Legislature and Judiciary Autonomy.