Reps Minority Caucus Insists On Ugochinyere As  Leader, Calls For  Signature Verification

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The  Minority Caucus under the aegis of the  “G-60 members” has urged the leadership of the House of Representatives to respect the expressed wishes of the overwhelming majority by avoiding the initiation of a fresh selection process for the vacant position of the Minority Leader.

The Source reports that a document in circulation on Wednesday night June 3,2026 had indicated that Hon Ikenga Ugochinyere, representing Ideato Federal Constituency of Imo state had been endorsed  by 61 members out of the 81 opposition members to replace Hon Kingsley Chinda who resigned from the  position following his defection from the Peoples Democratic party PDP to the All Progressive Congress APC.

However, the official ratification of the exercise at plenary on Thursday June 4, ran into troubled waters following objections and claims by the House deputy spokesperson, Hon Philip Agbese, to the effect that his signature was forged by the promoters of the Ugochinyere project.

While raising a matter of privilege, Agbese, representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State denied endorsing the nomination of Ugochinyere as the Minority Leader.

According to him,he only became aware of the document claiming the endorsement of Ugochinyere when it surfaced online, and on the social media space.

The Speaker of the House, Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas, in an attempt to douse tension, called for a closed-door meeting with all minority members for the purpose of resolving any gray areas.

But in a statement on Saturday jointly issued by Hon Mukhtar Umar and Hon Seyi Sowunmi, the G-60 Minority Caucus, while insisting on the validity of the earlier nomination of Ugochinyere, expressed its opposition to any attempt to initiate a fresh selection process.

The Caucus emphasized its commitment  to a transparent verification exercise to establish the authenticity or otherwise of the earlier nomination process.

According to the group, what should pre-occupy the attention of the House leadership is not a fresh selection process ,but a verification exercise to address concerns raised over the signatures already collected.

The opposition Lawmakers reaffirmed that 61 members out of the 81 opposition members of the House had earlier  endorsed Ugochinyere as their choice for the vacant position of the Minority Leader, and insisted that the decision must be respected.

The Caucus further noted that the nomination and endorsement of Ugochinyere were carried out by an overwhelming majority of the minority members of the House.

The Lawmakers, therefore, urged the leadership of the House to respect and uphold what they described as the democratic decision of the majority of the minority members.

“We are not calling for a new election or fresh nomination process. Rather, we are requesting a transparent verification of the signatures, and nomination already submitted by members of the Minority Caucus.

“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 Minority Caucus stated.