Rowdy session in Reps over minority leadership

The House of Representatives plenary on Thursday descended into rowdy session as lawmakers clashed over the minority leadership.

The disruption followed allegations by Philip Agbese, who represents Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State that his signature was forged on a document endorsing Ikenga Ugochinyere for the position of minority leader.

Out of the 81 minority Representatives 61 had in a statement on Wednesday announced their nomination of Ugochinyere as Minority Leader following the resignation of Kingsley Chinda, who also defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Raising a matter of personal privilege during plenary, Agbese alleged that his signature was forged on the nomination document circulating in support of Ugochinyere’s bid for the opposition leadership position. The development sparked a fierce confrontation among lawmakers, with accusations of forgery, blackmail and attempts to manipulate the race for the minority leadership position dominating proceedings.

Agbese told the House he was shocked to discover a document online carrying his name and signature as one of the lawmakers backing Ugochinyere’s emergence as minority leader.

According to him, although he had held discussions with several lawmakers, including Ugochinyere, on issues relating to constituency projects and the welfare of minority lawmakers, he never signed or endorsed any nomination document.

“I feel that my legislative privilege has been breached because this amounts to forgery for my signature to be used for purposes for which it was not intended,” Agbese said.

He urged the House leadership to investigate the allegation and halt what he described as attempts by Ugochinyere and his associates to damage his reputation.

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The Benue lawmaker also denied reports circulating on social media alleging that some lawmakers received $50,000 to support a particular candidate for the minority leadership position.

Responding to the complaint, Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker of the House assured Agbese that the matter would be addressed, but appealed to lawmakers not to prolong the disagreement on the floor.

The Speaker disclosed that he had summoned all minority lawmakers to a closed-door meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. to discuss the leadership crisis within the opposition caucus.

The situation, however further escalated when Ugochinyere sought permission to make a personal explanation, insisting that the allegations levelled against him both on the floor and during a live broadcast could not be ignored.

The Imo lawmaker denied forging Agbese’s signature and maintained that the Benue lawmaker personally signed the nomination document supporting his aspiration for minority leader.

According to Ugochinyere, Agbese voluntarily endorsed the nomination form at a meeting attended by several lawmakers who could testify to the incident.

His remarks immediately provoked protests from Agbese, who repeatedly interrupted him, shouting, “I never did that!”

The disagreement quickly degenerated into a shouting match as lawmakers from both camps exchanged words across the chamber, forcing the Speaker to repeatedly call for order while some members moved to calm tensions.

Despite the uproar, Ugochinyere insisted that he enjoyed the backing of the majority of opposition lawmakers in the House.

“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 present witnesses who were present when the nomination document was allegedly signed.

The Speaker again intervened and urged lawmakers to allow the matter to be resolved during the scheduled meeting of minority members.

Before calm fully returned to the chamber, another lawmaker raised a point of order, arguing that Ugochinyere’s statement claiming he had been elected by opposition lawmakers should be removed from the official records of the House because the matter was not formally before the chamber.

The lawmaker argued that only the opposition caucus could officially decide and communicate its leadership to the House, adding that any declaration made during plenary remained a opinion.