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LAGOS – Opposition lawmakers in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, on Wednesday, selected Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, lawmaker representing Ideato North and Ideato South, as Reps Minority Leader-Designate, awaiting the speaker’s announcement.
61 out of the 81 lawmakers from the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Labour Party (LP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and ACCORD submitted the signed nomination of Ikenga to the speaker ahead of the expected announcement.
The lawmakers settled for Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere to fill the vacancy that had occurred in the seat of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, announced by the speaker following the defection of the former leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), where he emerged as the party’s Rivers State governorship candidate.
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.
According to reports, the lawmakers 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 on condition of anonymity, expressed confidence that the speaker of the parliament, 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.
According to them, 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 Peoples Democratic Party (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.
