A group of 60 lawmakers (G-60) in the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, has said there was no forgery or fake signature in the nomination of Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere of the Action People’s Party (APP) for the position of Minority Leader.
LEADERSHIP reports that Hon. Philip Agbese(LP, Benue) alleged during plenary that his signature was forged on the circulated list of opposition members who have endorsed Ugochinyere as Minority Leader.
The position of House minority leader became vacant, following the resignation and defection of the former occupant, Hon. Kingsley Chinda,
from the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP to All Progressives Congress(APC) where he emerged as the party’s Rivers state governorship candidate.
Coming under a motion of person privilege on the floor of the House, Hon. Agbese denied ever endorsing Ugochinyere, saying the publication on the newspaper, vis-a-vis his signature infringe his privilege as a member of the minority caucus.
But the G-60 in a statement jointly signed by Hon. Mukhtar Umar and Hon. Seyi Sowunmi said contrary to claims made by the Deputy Spokesperson of the House, all signatures appended to the nomination document were voluntarily provided by the lawmakers concerned.
They said out of the 81 members that constitute the Minority Caucus, 61 lawmakers willingly signed in support of Ugochinyere’s nomination to fill the vacancy created by the exit of Chinda following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his subsequent emergence as the party’s governorship candidate in Rivers state.
“We note with concern the allegation by Hon. Philip Agbese that his signature was forged on the endorsement list. This claim is false and misleading. To establish the facts and dispel any misinformation, video evidence exists showing Hon. Agbese personally signing the nomination document and it will be sent out with this statement in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“We remain committed to due process, unity, and the collective interest of opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives. Attempts to discredit a transparent and democratic process through unfounded allegations should be discouraged.
“We urge members of the public and the media to disregard claims of forgery and rely on verifiable facts regarding the nomination process,” the statement added.