. Speaker abruptly adjourns plenary to avert chaos
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The House of Representatives on Thursday experienced a commotion that almost snowballed into a turmoil for close to half an hour over an allegation of forgery of the signature of members who endorsed the candidate for the office of Minority Leader of the House Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere.
However the Speaker Rt. Hon.Tajudeen Abbas who presided over the sitting of the House on Thursday immediately quenched the fire when he told the entire lawmakers that the House leadership would investigate the matter and take appropriate actions in line with the provisions of the House Rules.
The whole fracas began mid-way into the legislative session after the approval of the votes and proceedings of the previous days session by the presiding officer.
A member of the House, Hon. Philip Agbese (Benue LP) had raised a point of order bordering on abuse of his privileges.
The lawmaker, a first term lawmaker said his signature was surreptitiously included in a document that endorsed Hon.Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as Minority Leader alongside 60 other members of the House which he did not sign.
He further stated that he read some bloggers and some online stories published by some media outfits that alleged that all the lawmakers that signed the documents collected $50,000.00, saying that he did not collect the money as alleged.
He called on the House leadership to investigate the matter, clear his name and ensure that disciplinary actions are taken against those who decided to dent his image as a lawmaker and cause disaffection with his constituents for no just cause.
However, the Speaker, in his intervention, said that the matter will be investigated by the House and assured that appropriate actions would be taken if the matter of forgery is established by the probe.
Another member of the green chamber, Hon. Billy Osawaru (Edo APC), in his submission however urged the House to immediately refer the matter to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges for a thorough investigation.
At this juncture, the man in the centre of the controversy, Hon Ugochinyere (Imo AAP) stood up and raised a counter point of order.
He said that the allegation of forgery of his signature raised by Hon. Philip Agbese is baseless and unfounded as the lawmaker walked into the meeting in his office where the other 60 lawmakers that endorsed his candidacy for the position of Minority Leader signed their signatures.
He said that the issue of selection of Minority Leader in the green chamber is purely the prerogative of the minority parties which were all represented at the meeting.
Nothwitstanding, Agbese stood up again to counter the position of the man who is being accused of forgery of his signature, insisting that he never signed any documents on the endorsement of his candidacy.
This led to a serious commotion in the green chamber as other lawmakers spoke for and against the matter resulting into the hurried adjournment of the legislative session to Tuesday June 9, 2026 by the presiding officer.
Recall that Daily Champion reports that the opposition had emerged from the House of Representatives, with an overwhelming 61 out of 81 minority lawmakers settling for Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as the new Minority Leader designate to fill the vacancy that has occurred in the House of Representatives.
The vacancy was announced by the Speaker following the defection of the former occupant, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, to the ruling APC party, after emerging as the APC Rivers governorship candidate.
From documents available to newsmen, the majority of the lawmakers of the minority parties cutting across the entire minority bloc, namely ADC, NDC, APP, PRP, LP, APGA, APM, ACCORD and SDP, and across tribal, religious and zonal political lines settled for Ikenga as their preferred choice.
It was also alleged that the lawmakers submitted the official nomination of the new Minority Leader designate, Ugochinyere, to the Speaker in line with the tradition of the parliament, which is stated clearly under the new Rule Book of the House of Representatives, Order 7, Rule 7, which provides that members shall elect among themselves the Minority Leader to lead them.
Lawmakers had said they settled for Ikenga because of his excellent legislative record, three years out of his four-year term, during which he sponsored and moved over 40 bills, motions and petitions, in addition to his four years as Senior Adviser to the Senate President, all of which have established him as a qualified candidate for the job.
They further said that the power to choose rests with the majority of the minority members, and that power has now been exercised, adding that any sentimental arguments will not change the decision of the minority lawmakers, who have overwhelmingly settled for one of their own.
They noted that, in the past, Sen. Akpabio was elected Senate Minority Leader after only three weeks in parliament and that many others have been elected to top parliamentary positions with fewer years of experience.
They added that even when the PDP zoned the speakership to the South West for Mulikat, the lawmakers elected Tambuwal and Ihedioha; when the APC zoned the Senate Presidency to the North East, the senators elected Sen. Saraki and Ekweremadu; and Dogara was elected after the position had been tipped for the South West.
Parliament, they stressed, is rooted in the principle of majority decision and not sentiment. The lawmakers said their choice of Ikenga, with three years of legislative experience for a four-year job, is more than enough.
The names of the 61 opposition federal lawmakers who allegedly selected Ikenga as the Minority Leader designate are as follows:
Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere (Ikeagwuonu O. Ugochinyere) – APP – Imo
Hon. Aliyu Mustapha Abdullahi – ADC – Kaduna
Hon. Aniekwe Peter Udogalanya – NDC – Anambra
Hon. Shehu Dalhatu – PDP – Katsina
Hon. Aliyu Bappa Misau – APM – Bauchi
Hon. Matthew Nwogu – APP – Imo
Hon. Ojo Sunday Makanjuola – APM – Oyo
Hon. Anthony Adepoju – APM – Oyo
Hon. Isah Bello Ambarura – ADC – Sokoto
Hon. Sani Yakubu Noma – ADC – Kebbi
Hon. Umar Mukhtar Zakari – NDC – Kano
Hon. Adamu Sani Wakili – NDC – Kano
Hon. Datti Yusuf Umar – NDC – Kano
Hon. Abdulhakeem Kamilu Ado – NDC – Kano
Hon. Philip Agbese – LP – Benue
Hon. Dahiru Abubakar Sarki – SDP – Nasarawa
Hon. Thaddeus Attah – NDC – Lagos
Hon. Gwacham Maureen Chinwe – APGA – Anambra
Hon. Obinna Aguocha – LP – Abia
Hon. Nnabuife Chinwe Clara – APGA – Anambra
Hon. Peter Ifeanyi Uzokwe – NDC – Anambra
Hon. Emeka Idu Godwin Obiajulu – NDC – Anambra
Hon. Oyedeji Najimdeen Oyeshina – APM – Oyo
Hon. Joshua Obika – NDC – FCT
Hon. Okonkwo Uchenna Harris – NDC – Anambra
Hon. Oluwande George – NDC – Lagos
Hon. Jesse Okey-Joe Onuakalusi – NDC – Lagos
Hon. Oladebo Lanre Omoleye – ACCORD – Osun
Hon. Mudashiru Lukman Alani – ACCORD – Osun
Hon. Mani Maishinko Katami – ADC – Sokoto
Hon. Usman Basiru – ADC – Sokoto
Hon. Ibe Okwara Osonwa – LP – Abia
Hon. Alexanda Ifeanyi Ikwechegh – LP – Abia
Hon. Omoruyi Murphy Osaro – NDC – Edo
Hon. Aliyu Aminu Garu – APM – Bauchi
Hon. Auwalu Abdu Gwalabe – APM – Bauchi
Hon. Hashimu Adamu – APM – Bauchi
Hon. Akanni Clement Ademola – ACCORD – Osun
Hon. Adewale Morufu Adebayo – ACCORD – Osun
Hon. Adetunji Abidemi Olusoji – ACCORD – Osun
Hon. Okafor Dominic Ifeanyi – APGA – Anambra
Hon. Onwusibe Ginger Obinna – LP – Abia
Hon. Zubairu Bashir Usman – ADC – Kaduna
Hon. Abdulmaleek A. Danga – PDP – Kogi
Hon. Oluwaseyi Ayopo Sowumi – NDC – Lagos
Hon. Madawaki Dahiru – PDP – Jigawa
Hon. Sani Ibrahim Tanko – APM – Bauchi
Hon. Umar Yusuf Yabo – ADC – Sokoto
Hon. El-Rufai Mohammed Bello – ADC – Kaduna
Hon. Ajilo Umar Shehu – ADC – Kaduna
Hon. Yahaya Suleiman Richifa – ADC – Kaduna
Hon. Gana Joshua Audu – PDP – Niger
Hon. Abel David Fuoh – PDP – Taraba
Hon. Sani Lawal – ADC – Katsina
Hon. Fola Oyekunle – APM – Oyo
Hon. Amobi Ogah – LP – Abia
Hon. Adamu Yakubu – PDP – Jigawa
Hon. Abdullahi El Rasheed – ADC – Gombe
Hon. Engr. Esosa Iyame – NDC – Edo
Hon. Bala Rabiu – PDP – Bauchi
Hon. Abubakar Baba Zango – ADC – Adamawa.
