- Over Minority Leader seat
Allegations of forgery and shouting match disrupted proceedings in the House of Representatives on Thursday as the battle for the position of Minority Leader took a dramatic turn, exposing deepening divisions within the opposition caucus over the race to fill the leadership position.
The dramatic confrontation came amid an intensifying contest surrounding the nomination of Ikenga Ugochinyere, member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State, whose bid for the position has gained significant backing among opposition lawmakers but also generated stiff resistance from rival camps.
Reports said that Ugochinyere has secured the support of 61 out of the 81 opposition lawmakers in the House following the defection of former Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to details contained in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the lawmakers urged the House leadership to formally recognise Ugochinyere as the new leader of the opposition caucus.
The signatories to the nomination letter were said to include 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.
However, Ugochinyere’s nomination has not been without controversy. Sources within the House indicated that some lawmakers have opposed his candidacy and are reportedly backing Frederick Agbedi, member representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State, as an alternative candidate.
Those opposed to Ugochinyere’s emergence are said to be raising concerns over party representation and regional balancing within the opposition leadership structure.
One of the arguments being advanced is that Ugochinyere belongs to the Action Peoples Party (APP), one of the smallest parties in the House with only two members, making his candidacy contentious in the view of some lawmakers.
Some members are also reportedly insisting that since the position became vacant following Chinda’s departure and considering that the former Minority Leader is from the South-South geopolitical zone, the office should remain in the region.
The simmering battle spilled onto the floor of the House during plenary on Thursday when Philip Agbese, member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, raised a matter of personal privilege and accused Ugochinyere of using his signature without authorisation in a document allegedly nominating him for the office of Minority Leader.
Agbese told lawmakers that he was shocked after discovering a nomination document circulating online carrying his name and signature in support of Ugochinyere’s aspiration.
According to him, while he had held discussions with several lawmakers, including Ugochinyere, on issues affecting minority lawmakers and constituency projects, he never signed any document endorsing the Imo lawmaker.
“I feel that my legislative privilege has been breached because this amounts to forgery of my signature to be used for purposes for which it was not intended,” Agbese said.
The Benue lawmaker further called on the House leadership to investigate the allegations and stop what he described as attempts by Ugochinyere and his associates to damage his reputation.
He also denied social media reports alleging that some lawmakers received $50,000 to support a candidate in the race for Minority Leader.
“My constituents have been calling me. I have not received any amount of money from anybody and I will not do so. This is my integrity,” he declared.
Responding, Speaker Abbas acknowledged the complaint and assured Agbese that the allegations would be examined.
The Speaker, however, urged members not to prolong the disagreement during plenary and disclosed that he had convened a closed-door meeting involving opposition lawmakers later in the day to address the deepening crisis.
“We will take action on the issue you have raised in due course. However, I want to again bring to the attention of all minority members that I am inviting every minority member of this House to a closed-door meeting today by 2 p.m. so that we can discuss further,” Abbas said.
Tension rose further when Ugochinyere sought permission to respond, insisting that allegations made against him on the floor of the House and during a live broadcast could not be ignored.
He denied forging Agbese’s signature and maintained that the Benue lawmaker personally signed the nomination document during a meeting attended by several lawmakers.
According to him, Agbese voluntarily endorsed the document in the presence of witnesses who could testify to what transpired.
His response immediately provoked protests from Agbese, who repeatedly interrupted him, shouting: “I never did that!”
The chamber descended into a shouting match as lawmakers from both camps exchanged words, forcing the Speaker to repeatedly call for order while some members moved to calm tensions.
Despite the uproar, Ugochinyere insisted that his bid continued to enjoy overwhelming support among opposition lawmakers.
“I understand that at the moment, the overwhelming majority of 61 members out of 81 opposition members elected me. It may not go down well with some people, but I never expected that their desperation would get to this level,” he said.
He described the forgery allegation as “a treacherous lie” and vowed to produce witnesses who were present when the nomination document was signed.
Before the order could fully return to the chamber, another lawmaker raised a point of order and challenged Ugochinyere’s claim that he had already been elected by opposition lawmakers.
The member argued that the matter was not formally before the House and maintained that only the opposition caucus had the authority to determine and communicate its leadership structure to the chamber. According to the lawmaker, any declaration made during plenary should be treated as a personal opinion rather than an official position of the opposition bloc.