Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria

The speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Federal House of Representatives of Nigeria, elected by its membership. The House Speaker is third in line of succession to the Nigerian Presidency, after the Vice President of Nigeria and the President of the Senate of Nigeria. The current House Speaker is Tajudeen Abbas who was elected Speaker of House of Representatives of Nigeria on 13 June 2023.

Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Incumbent Tajudeen Abbas since 13 June 2023
Legislative Branch of the Federal Government
Style	Mr Speaker (informal) The Honourable (formal)
Member of	Nigerian House of Representatives National Assembly Commission
Seat	National Assembly Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja
Appointer	Indirect House Election
Term length	4 years renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Nigeria
Inaugural holder	Sir Frederic Metcalfe (Colonial) Jaja Wachukwu (indigenous)
Formation	12 January 1955; 69 years ago (1955-01-12)
Succession	Third
Deputy	Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives

History

Sir Frederic Metcalfe of Great Britain became the first Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria after its inauguration on 12 January 1955 by John Macpherson. He was replaced by the first indigenous speaker, Jaja Wachuku, in 1959. As Speaker of the House, Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence, also known as Freedom Charter, on 1 October 1960, from Princess Alexandra of Kent (Alexandra was Elizabeth II's representative at the Nigerian Independence ceremonies). Chaha Biam hails from Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State. He was elected to the House of Representative on the platform of NPN in the 1983 general elections and was elected as the Speaker of House of Representative in the short-lived second tenure of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, 1 October 1983 – 31 December 1983. Dimeji Bankole is the youngest Speaker in the history of the House of Representatives, elected at the age of 37.^[1]

Selection and succession to presidency

The speaker is chosen in an indirect election conducted within the House of Representatives. The line of succession to the Nigerian presidency goes to the Vice President, and then the President of the Senate should both the President and Vice President be unable to discharge the powers and duties of office.^[2] The Speaker of the House is the third in line of succession.

Office of the Speaker

The speaker is supported by their Chief of Staff

List of speakers

Federation and First Republic

Speaker			Term of office		Political party	Election
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office
		Sir Frederic Metcalfe	12 January 1955	January 1959	None	1954
		Jaja Wachuku	January 1959	1 October 1960	National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons	1959
		Ibrahim Jalo Waziri	1 October 1960	15 January 1966	Northern People's Congress	1964

Military Government

The House of Representatives did not sit in this time.

Second Republic

Speaker			Term of office		Political party	Election
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office
		Edwin Ume-Ezeoke	1 October 1979	1 October 1983	National Party of Nigeria	1979
		Benjamin Chaha	1 October 1983	31 December 1983	National Party of Nigeria	1983

Military Government

The House of Representatives did not sit in this time.

Third Republic

Speaker			Term of office		Political party	Election
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office
		Agunwa Anaekwe	5 December 1992	17 November 1993	Social Democratic Party	1992

Military Government

The House of Representatives did not sit in this time.

Fourth Republic

Speaker			Term of office		Political party	Constituency	Election
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office
		Salisu Buhari	3 June 1999	23 July 1999	People's Democratic Party		1999
		Ghali Umar Na'Abba	23 July 1999	3 June 2003	People's Democratic Party
		Aminu Bello Masari	3 June 2003	5 June 2007	People's Democratic Party	Malumfashi / Kafur, Katsina	2003
		Patricia Etteh	5 June 2007	30 October 2007	People's Democratic Party	Ayedaade / Irewole / Isokan, Osun	2007
		Dimeji Bankole	1 November 2007	6 June 2011	People's Democratic Party	Abeokuta South, Ogun
		Aminu Tambuwal	6 June 2011	29 May 2015	People's Democratic Party	Kebbe / Tambuwal, Sokoto	2011
		Yakubu Dogara	9 June 2015	9 June 2019	All Progressives Congress	Bogoro/Dass /Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi	2015
		Femi Gbajabiamila	11 June 2019	11 June 2023	All Progressives Congress	Surulere I, Lagos	2019
		Tajudeen Abbas	13 June 2023	Incumbent	All Progressives Congress	Zaria, Kaduna	2023

References

1. "Nigeria Parliament Elects New Speaker Of The House". www.feedsyndicate.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
2. "Nigeria's Constitution of 1999 with Amendments through 2011" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 8 March 2022.

• Nigeria portal

• Official website of the House of Representatives
• Assemblyonline, news agency on Nigeria's National Assembly