Afresh development has 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 seat of the Minority Leader of 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, where he emerged as the APC Rivers governorship candidate.
Opposition lawmakers excited about Ikenga’s nomination; express readiness to work with ruling party members to deliver on legislative expectations.
This decision will wait for the HoR speaker’s formal announcement.
From the documents sighted by our reporter, 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 voluntarily settled for Ikenga as their preferred choice. From available information, the lawmakers today submitted the official nomination of the new Minority Leader designate, Ikenga, 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.
The lawmakers, who spoke to journalists anonymously, expressed confidence that the Speaker as an unbiased leader, will swiftly make the announcement so that the minority can have its leadership in the next few days, and the parliament can be fully constituted with the minority fully represented. The lawmakers said they have also settled for nominees to fill the vacant positions of Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Leader, with one of the positions already taken by an NDC member from the North West. After ongoing harmonisation, the remaining list will be sent to the Speaker within the next few days for announcement.
The lawmakers 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 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 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
Total: 61 signed members
