AfriPulse
June 07 (THEWILL) — Just when the minority parties thought they had it all wrapped up for the emergence of Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, the member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State as minority leader in the House of Representatives, that other identity challenges cropped in to return then to the drawing board. Issues of zoning, party strength and due process came up in resistance to the fiery lawmakers’ nomination process.
At the heart of the resistance is the question of how he was nominated. The nomination process, is governed by “the House of Representatives Standing Orders, particularly Order 7, Rule 7, which provides that members of the minority caucus shall elect among themselves those who will occupy minority leadership positions.”
The rule also presupposes that signatories shall speak with one voice. So, it was with utmost surprise on Thursday when Philip Agbese, the lawmaker representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency, raised a point of privilege during plenary, firmly denying reports that he endorsed Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere for the position. Immediately, the House erupted in rowdiness with allegations of sabotage flying around.
According to Agbese, a former Deputy spokesperson of the House before he defected from the governing APC to the LP ahead of the just concluded party primaries, his signature was forged on a nomination document said to have supported Ugochineye’s candidacy, describing the development as a serious breach of parliamentary integrity. He was not done. He cited some reports which showed that the signatories were given some amount of money to the tune of 50,000 dollars as incentives to endorse the candidate.
“This is my integrity I am talking about. I never signed any document and I never received any amount of money and I will never do.
“I will tender the list to the house as well as the link to the online report for this house to investigate the matter,” he said. But the group of 60 remains adamant. Ia statement on Saturday jointly issued by Hon Mukhtar Umar and Hon Seyi Sowunmi, the G-60 Minority Caucus, insisted on the validity of the earlier nomination of Ugochinyere, expressed its opposition to any attempt to initiate a fresh selection process.
Ruling on the matter, the Speaker of the House, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, said that the motion was noted and that the house would take action in due course. However, shortly after the ruling, Ugochinyere, in a motion of personal explanation, said that there was need to respond to the allegations raised by Agbese on live plenary.
He explained that Agbese was absent at the minority caucus meeting where he was selected as minority leader by an overwhelming majority of the caucus, with 61 members signing the endorsement.
The lawmaker said that Agbese followed him to his office to append his signature on the document where other members had voted for his emergence. Ugochinyere promised to provide evidence and witnesses to confirm his position, saying that there was no case of forgery of any sort. Agbese, however, interrupted Ugochinyere, insisting that he never signed any document. He was to later deny allegations that he signed the groups’ list as a willing member at Ugochinyere’s office as alleged by the group of 60 members, who presented CTV as evidence. He denied the claim, insisting that the electronic device captured moments when he signed for a different matter: The welfare of members.
At this point, the members engaged in a shouting match. After several minutes of rowdiness, the speaker called the house to order, saying that a minority caucus meeting had already been fixed where all disagreements would be discussed. With many members still raising their hands to speak, the presiding officer gave room and Rep. Solomon Bob (APC-Rivers) said that according to House Rule 7 (15), only experienced members could be principal officers.
He said that Ugochinyere had barely spent three years in the house where there are opposition members with more than 10 years experience.
The lawmaker added that Ugochinyere should not be allowed to emerge. Rep. Dagomie Abiante (APC-Rivers) also said that the position of Ugochinyere should not be allowed to enter the records of the house but it should be ignored and deleted.
The speaker, however, maintained his position, saying that all contributions on the matter would be taken at the minority caucus meeting, and then proceeded with the agenda for the day.
On the issue of zoning, sources within the House said that some lawmakers were opposed to Ugochinyere’s emergence and reportedly backing Hon. Frederick Agbedi, the lawmaker representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State, as an alternative candidate.
Also, those opposed to Ugochinyere’s candidacy are said to be raising concerns over party representation and regional balancing within the opposition leadership structure.
One of the arguments reportedly advanced was that Ugochinyere belongs to the Action Peoples Party (APP), one of the smallest political parties in the House with only two members, making his emergence contentious in the eyes of some lawmakers.
There are also arguments centred on zoning considerations. Some members insisted that because the position became vacant following Chinda’s departure, and considering that Chinda hails from the South-South geopolitical zone, it would be politically appropriate for the position to remain within the same region.
The battle for the position of Minority Leader in the House of Representatives gathered momentum shortly after Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced Chinda’s resignation during plenary and as Hon. Ugochinyere who had indicated interest in the position, reportedly secured the backing of a majority of opposition lawmakers following the defection of the current Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
THEWILL gathered that 61 out of the 81 opposition lawmakers in the House have endorsed Ugochinyere as the next Minority Leader and formally communicated their decision to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas. According to details contained in a letter, the lawmakers urged the House leadership to recognise Ugochinyere as the new leader of the opposition caucus.
The signatories to the nomination letter are said to comprise lawmakers drawn from multiple opposition parties, including the National Democratic Coalition (NDC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Accord Party.
A civil society group, the Centre for Legislative Accountability and Democratic Integrity (CLADI) on Friday petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) for an investigation into reports surrounding the process that led to the endorsement of a candidate for the position of Minority in the House. “The National Assembly occupies a critical place in Nigeria’s constitutional democracy. Any concerns relating to the emergence of its principal officers should be addressed through appropriate institutional mechanisms in order to maintain public trust,” the petition stated.
As of press time, no official statement had been issued by the Speaker’s office regarding the nomination, while the reported rival camp supporting Agbedi had yet to publicly announce its position.
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