The speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Federal House of Representatives of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, elected by its membership. The current House Speaker is

Tajudeen Abbas Tajudeen Abbas (born 1 October 1965) is a Nigerian academic and politician who is the 15th and current Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria since 2023. Early life and education Abbas was born on 1 October 1965 in Kwarbai, Zari ...

who was elected Speaker of House of Representatives of Nigeria on 13 June 2023.

History

Sir Frederic Metcalfe of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

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 Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, also known as Freedom Charter, on 1 October 1960, from

Princess Alexandra of Kent Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (Alexandra Helen Elizabeth Olga Christabel; born 25 December 1936) is a member of the British royal family and the only daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and D ...

(Alexandra was

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's representative at the Nigerian Independence ceremonies). Chaha Biam hails from Ukum Local Government Area of

Benue State Benue is a State in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria. It is popularly referred to as part of the Middle belt. It has an estimated population of about 4,253,641 in List of Nigerian states by population, the 2006 census. ...

. 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 Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (; 25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018) was a Nigerian politician who was the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by Military Head of State of Nigeria, military head of sta ...

, 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. hw far download dis in the name of God the father,the son and the holy spirit

Selection and succession to presidency

The speaker is chosen in an

indirect election An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

conducted within the House of Representatives. The line of succession to the Nigerian presidency goes to the

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, and then the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

should both the President and Vice President be unable to discharge the powers and duties of office. 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 The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

List of speakers

Federation and First Republic

Military Government

The House of Representatives did not sit in this time.

Second Republic

Military Government

The House of Representatives did not sit in this time.

Third Republic

Military Government

The House of Representatives did not sit in this time.

Fourth Republic

References

Official website of the House of RepresentativesAssemblyonline, news agency on Nigeria's National Assembly

Chaha Biam speaker 1983

Speakers Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Speaker (song), "Speaker" ( ...

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