Ethiopia’s parliament Speaker Abadula Gemeda has resigned from his position, though he did not give any reasons for doing so.
Abadula, who announced his resignation on national state television, said he would give a detailed reason at a later date.
Many people however thing his resignation is a move to protests against the Federal government’s handling of recent security situation in Oromia and Ethiopia Somali regions, out of which many have died and thousands of people have been evicted from their homes.
The speaker is seen as one of the key politicians in the country, and his move surprised many.
Before becoming speaker, Abadula served as an army general, minister of defence and head of the Oromia regional state.
He was instrumental in the fight against the military regime of Ethiopia.
The Oromo protests erupted in 2015, as the people there demanded an end to decades of systemic exclusion and subordination of the Oromo.
The protests were sparked by a government plan to expand the territorial and administrative limits of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, into neighbouring Oromo towns and villages.
