There was a heated exchange in the House of Representatives on Thursday between a member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, Philip Agbese and his fellow lawmaker, Ikenga Ugochinyere.
It gathered that the crisis erupted when Agbese alleged that Ugochinyere used his signature without authorisation in a document purportedly nominating him for the office of minority leader.
Agbese told the House that he was shocked to discover a document in circulation online with his name and signature in support of Ugochinyere’s bid for the opposition leadership position.
He said he had held discussions with several lawmakers including Ugochinyere on issues of the welfare of minority lawmakers and constituency projects but never endorsed any nomination document.
“I feel that my legislative privilege has been breached because if I sign this document, that amounts to forgery for my signature to be used for purposes for which it was not intended,” Agbese said.
He urged the House leadership to probe the matter and put a stop to what he called further attempts by Ugochinyere and his associates to malign his reputation.
He also dismissed reports circulating on social media that some lawmakers were given $50,000 to support one of the candidates for the minority leadership position.
“My constituents have been reaching out to me. I have not received any amount of money from anybody and I will not do so. “This is my integrity,” he told me.
In response, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen acknowledged Agbese’s complaints and assured him that the matter would be addressed.
“We will return to you on the issue you have raised in due course. But again, I want to bring to the notice of all the minority members that I am calling all the minority members of this House for a closed-door meeting today by 2 p.m. so that we can discuss further,” Abbas said.
However, matters worsened when Ugochinyere sought the Speaker’s indulgence to make a personal explanation insisting that, the allegations made against him on the floor and during a live broadcast could not go unanswered.
The Imo lawmaker denied the forgery allegation, saying Agbese personally signed the nomination form backing his aspiration for minority leader.
He said Agbese came to a meeting venue and voluntarily endorsed his nomination in the presence of several lawmakers who could testify to the development.
His comments were met with loud protests from Agbese who interrupted him repeatedly shouting, “I never did that!”
The exchange spiraled into a shouting match as lawmakers from both sides joined in and the Speaker had to repeatedly call for order as some members tried to calm the situation.
Despite the uproar, Ugochinyere insisted his nomination had the support of most opposition lawmakers.
“I know that now the vast majority of 61 members out of 81 opposition members voted for me. I never thought that their desperation will go to this level, it may not be palatable to some people,” he said.
He dismissed the allegation of forgery as “a treacherous lie” and promised to produce witnesses who were present when the nomination document was signed.
Again the Speaker intervened, urging lawmakers to stop further exchanges and let the matter be resolved at the scheduled meeting of opposition members.
Before normalcy could be restored, another lawmaker raised a point of order, arguing that Ugochinyere’s claim that he was elected by opposition members should be expunged from the House records since the matter was not formally before the chamber.
The lawmaker said only the opposition caucus could officially determine and present its leadership to the House, stressing that any declaration made on the floor was a personal opinion.
