Battle for Reps minority leader hots up as Ugochinyere, Agbedi step forward

On Wednesday, 61 out of the 81 opposition members in the House of Representatives endorsed Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere of the Action People’s Party (APP) as Minority Leader-designate. Some lawmakers are however routing for the member representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency of Bayelsa State, Frederick Yeitiemone Agbedi of the PDP who is also chairman of the PDP South South caucus in the House. The tussle follows the vacancy created by the exit of former Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, who recently defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and subsequently emerged as the party’s governorship candidate in Rivers State. Documents made available to our correspondent showed that lawmakers drawn from various opposition parties submitted a signed nomination backing Ugochinyere to Speaker Abbas Tajudeen ahead of an expected announcement on the minority leadership positions. The 61 lawmakers represent about 75 per cent of the entire opposition bloc in the House. Sources in the House however say, there are factors working against the election of Ugochinyere as he belongs to the APP, one of the smallest parties in the chamber with only two members. Another thing is that the position was vacated by Chinda, who is from the South South hence it would be expected that someone from the zone takes the position. Ugochinyere hails from the South East, which already has George Ozodinobi as deputy minority whip in the same caucus, Some of the lawmakers observe that despite the AAP’s numerical disadvantage, lawmakers across the opposition divide who spoke in anonymity said they settled for him based on what they described as his legislative record and ability to coordinate the minority caucus. The opposition bloc in the House currently comprises 81 lawmakers spread across 10 political parties. A breakdown shows that the New Democratic Congress (NDC) has 24 members, African Democratic Congress (ADC) 15, Action People’s Movement (APM) 14, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 11, Labour Party (LP) eight, Accord six, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) four, APP two, Social Democratic Party (SDP) one and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) one. According to some lawmakers who spoke in anonymity, the nomination was transmitted to the Speaker in line with parliamentary tradition and the provisions of the House Rules governing the emergence of minority principal officers. “The majority of minority lawmakers have exercised their right and settled for Ugochinyere as their preferred candidate. What remains is for the Speaker to formally announce the decision of the minority caucus,” one of the lawmakers said. Another lawmaker expressed confidence that the Speaker would act on the nomination to ensure the House is fully constituted with the opposition leadership positions occupied. The lawmakers also disclosed that consultations were ongoing regarding the offices of Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip. According to them, one of the positions has already been allocated to a member of the NDC from the North-West, while discussions on the remaining offices are being harmonised before a final list is forwarded to the Speaker. House rule on emergence of Minority Leader The House of Representatives Standing Orders place the responsibility for nominating minority principal officers on opposition parties in the chamber. Order Seven of the House Rules, which deals with Principal Officers, provides under Rule 8 on Minority Leadership that: “The Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip shall be nominated by the minority parties in the House.” The provision is regarded as the principal guideline governing the emergence of the Minority Leader and other minority leadership positions. The latest endorsement is therefore expected to test how the minority parties interpret and apply the rule, especially in a chamber where the opposition is spread across several parties rather than being dominated by a single political platform. The numbers Of the 81 opposition lawmakers in the House, 61 signed the nomination backing Ugochinyere. The signatories were drawn from the APP, NDC, ADC, APM, PDP, LP, APGA, Accord and SDP, reflecting support from nearly all opposition platforms represented in the chamber. The endorsement means three out of every four opposition lawmakers have publicly aligned behind the APP lawmaker ahead of the Speaker’s decision on the vacant minority leadership position. With the Minority Leader’s seat vacant following Chinda’s defection, attention is now focused on Speaker Abbas Tajudeen and whether the House leadership will formally recognise the nomination submitted by the opposition lawmakers.