A spotlight on the Speakers and Deputy Speakers, and data on the total number of legislators in the five (5) State Houses of Assembly of Nigeria’s South East geopolitical zone
READ ALSO: Meet the Presiding Officers of Nigeria’s State Assemblies (South West)
Nigeria’s South East geo-political zone has five states with a total of one hundred and twenty-nine (129) lawmakers representing various constituencies in the thirty six (36) State Houses of Assembly.
With the legislative elections long over, various state legislatures have, over the last three weeks, held their inauguration and begun the business of lawmaking in line with constitutional requirements spelt out in sections 91 and 92 of the ground norm.
“A House of Assembly of a State shall consist of three or four times the number of seats which that State has in the House of Representatives divided in a way to reflect, as far as possible nearly equal population: Provided that a House of Assembly of a State shall consist of not less than twenty-four and not more than forty members.” – Section 91
“There shall be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of a House of Assembly who shall be elected by the members of the House from among themselves,” – Section 92
This however started with complying with the provision of the Nigerian constitution which requires that the governors of the thirty-six states issue proclamation letters ushering in new legislative sessions for their respective states as well as a new leadership for the parliaments.
“The person elected as the Governor of a State shall have power to issue a proclamation for the holding of the first session of the House of Assembly of the State concerned immediately after his being sworn in, or for its dissolution as provided in this section.” – Section 105 (3)
With these processes complete, we spotlight in this series, Presiding Officers of Nigeria’s 36 States across the six geo-political zones with a focus on the South East.
IMO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
| Legislative Session | Speaker | Deputy Speaker |
| 10th Assembly | Rt. Hon. Chike Olemgbe | Hon. Amara Iwuanyanwu |
| Ihitte/Uboma State Constituency | Nwangele State Constituency | |
| 2023 till date | 2019 till date | |
| All Progressives Congress (APC) | ||
Rt. Hon. Chike Olemgbe (Speaker)
Legislative Experience: First-term lawmaker (2023 till date)
Executive Experience: Chairman, Committee Ihitte /Uboma Local Government Area
Hon. Amara Iwuanyanwu (Deputy Speaker)
Legislative Experience: Second-term lawmaker (2019 till date)
ANAMBRA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
| Legislative Session | Speaker | Deputy Speaker |
| 8th Assembly | Rt. Hon. Somtochukwu Udeze | Hon. Pius Chukwuma Okoye |
| Ogbaru State Constituency 2 | Awka South State Constituency 2 | |
| 2023 till date | 2019 till date | |
| All Progressives Congress (APC) | ||
Rt. Hon. Somtochukwu Udeze (Speaker)
Legislative Experience: Third-term lawmaker (2015 till date) – People’s Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
(a) Chairman: House Committee on Agriculture
(b) Member: House Committees on Trade and Commerce Member, Internally Generated Affairs, Women Affairs, Security and Community Affairs, Lands, Science and Technology.
Hon. Pius Chukwuma Okoye (Deputy Speaker)
Legislative Experience: Second-term lawmaker (2019 till date)
ENUGU STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
| Legislative Session | Speaker | Deputy Speaker |
| 8th Assembly | Rt. Hon. Uche Ugwu | Hon. Ezenta Ezeani |
| Udi North State Constituency | Igbo-Etiti West State Constituency | |
| 2019 till date | 2019 till date | |
| People’s Democratic Party (PDP) | ||
Rt. Hon. Uche Ugwu (Speaker)
Legislative Experience: Second-term lawmaker (2019 till date), Deputy Speaker (2019 – 2023)
Hon. Ezenta Ezeani (Deputy Speaker)
Legislative Experience: Second-term lawmaker (2019 till date)
ABIA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
| Legislative Session | Speaker | Deputy Speaker |
| 8th Assembly | Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Ihuoma Emeruwa | Hon. Augustine Nmeregini Okezie |
| Aba South State Constituency | Umuahia East State Constituency | |
| 2023 till date | 2023 till date | |
| All Progressives Congress (APC) | ||
Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Ihuoma Emeruwa (Speaker)
Legislative Experience: First-term lawmaker (2023 till date)
Executive Experience: Executive Chairman, Aba South Local Government Area (2016- 2018)
Hon. Okezie Augustine Nmeregini (Deputy Speaker)
Legislative Experience: First-term lawmaker (2023 till date)
EBONYI STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
| Legislative Session | Speaker | Deputy Speaker |
| 7th Assembly | Rt. Hon. Moses Ije Odunwa | Hon. Chinedu Onah Ogba |
| Ikwo South State Constituency | Ohaukwu South State Constituency | |
| 2019 till date | 2019 till date | |
| All Progressives Congress (APC) | ||
Rt. Hon. Moses Ije Odunwa (Speaker)
Legislative Experience: Second-term lawmaker (2019 till date)
Hon. Chinedu Onah (Deputy Speaker)
Legislative Experience: Second-term lawmaker (2019 till date)
