The lawmaker representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, Ikenga Ugochinyere, has been nominated as the Minority Leader of the House under the platform of the Action Peoples Party (APP).
Opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives backed Ugochinyere as Minority Leader designate, following the resignation of Kingsley Chinda from the position after his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
A total of 61 out of 81 minority lawmakers drawn from multiple opposition parties formally endorsed Ugochinyere and submitted his name to the Speaker of the House for official announcement.
The lawmakers, comprising members of the African Democratic Congress, ADC; Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC; All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA; Peoples Redemption Party, PRP; Labour Party, LP; Allied Peoples Movement, APM; Social Democratic Party, SDP and Accord, said the decision reflected a broad consensus across regional, religious and political divides within the minority bloc. They are now awaiting the Speaker’s formal declaration, in line with House rules governing leadership selection among minority parties.
In the submitted nomination documents, the lawmakers cited Order 7, Rule 7 of the House Rules, which provides that members of the minority bloc shall elect their leadership internally. They argued that the overwhelming support for Ugochinyere reflected the principle of majority decision-making within the opposition caucus.
Ugochinyere’s supporters within the caucus pointed to his sponsorship of over 40 bills, motions and petitions within his current term, as well as his previous advisory role to the Senate leadership, as evidence of his readiness for the position.
The lawmakers expressed confidence that the Speaker would act swiftly on the submission to avoid a prolonged leadership vacuum within the minority caucus, stressing the need for a fully constituted opposition leadership to ensure effective parliamentary engagement.
