The G-60 Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives said that it has not withdrawn the nomination of Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere for the position of Minority Leader of the House, insisting that it was only seeking verification of signatures already submitted in support of his nomination.
In a statement issued on Saturday and jointly signed by Hon. Mukthar Umar and Hon. Seyi Sowunmi, the caucus clarified that it was not calling for a fresh election or nomination process but rather a transparent verification exercise to address concerns raised over some signatures collected.
The lawmakers recalled that 61 out of the 81 members of the Minority Caucus endorsed Ugochinyere’s nomination to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, who stepped down from the position after defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and emerging as the party’s governorship candidate in Rivers State.
The clarification followed claims by Labour Party lawmaker, Hon. Philip Agbese, at Thursday’s plenary that he did not endorse Ugochinyere’s nomination, prompting Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, to convene a meeting of Minority lawmakers where discussions reportedly centred on the possibility of conducting a fresh process to determine the minority leadership position.
However, the G-60 Caucus maintained that its position remained unchanged.
“We are not calling for a new election or fresh nomination process. Rather, we are requesting a transparent verification of the signatures and nominations already submitted by members of the Minority Caucus,” the statement said.
The caucus stressed that Ugochinyere’s nomination was duly endorsed by an overwhelming majority of Minority lawmakers and argued that any dispute over individual endorsements could be resolved through a simple verification process.
“The nomination of Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere was duly endorsed by an overwhelming majority of Minority members, and any concerns regarding individual endorsements can be resolved through a straightforward verification exercise,” the lawmakers stated.
They further urged the leadership of the House of Representatives to uphold what they described as the democratic decision of the majority of Minority members by verifying the existing nominations instead of initiating a fresh process.
“We therefore urge the leadership of the House to respect the democratic decision of the majority of Minority members and proceed with the verification of the existing nominations instead of initiating a new process,” the statement added.
