By GBENGA ARIYIBI

ADO-EKITI—Ekiti State House of Assembly, yesterday, ratified the appointment of Professor Modupe Adelabu as the new Deputy Governor of the state.

The former university don was screened by the 26-member Assembly at 10.15am, yesterday, in Ado-Ekiti.

Adelabu, present Chairman of Ekiti State Universal Basic Education, was screened at the Houses’s parliamentary session.

Governor Kayode Fayemi sent the name of Prof. Adelabu to the House for ratification as replacement for late Deputy Governor, Mrs Funmilayo Olayinka, who died of cancer on April 6, last Friday.

The former chairman of the Education Board was ushered in to the assembly building by the Speaker of the House, Adewale Omirin, and drilled for about 30 minutes.

Speaking with the newsmen shortly after the exercise, Omirin said: “We conducted the screening at the parliament based on the decision of the lawmakers.

“They drilled the nominee for over 30 minutes but she did not let us down. She answered us intelligently and we didn’t expect anything less.”

Addressing newsmen later, Prof. Adelabu appealed to politicians in the state to cooperate with the government in building a state all Ekiti citizens can be proud of.

She said: “Irrespective of our political differences, this state belongs to all of us. We should all come together and forget our political differences to build a solid state because whatever happens now, either good or bad, will be for all of us.”

Adelabu said she was happy to have been appointed, saying she never expected that she could find herself in the position until her name was announced by the state government.