Rowdy session in Reps over minority leader position

It was a rowdy session at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, following the announcement of minority principal officers for the green chamber.

It all started out peaceful until Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila announced minority principal officers of the green chamber.

PDP lawmakers, Kingsley Chinda and Ndidi Elumelu, Rivers and Delta, respectively, had indicated the interests in the position of the House minority speaker.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers in the House had not been able to reach an agreement on who to leads them.

Chinda had earlier raised a point of order, citing order 6 rule 1 of the House rules book which says members of minority parties in the green chamber shall choose someone "with experience" to lead them.

He said the leadership of his party had written to the speaker to inform him of its choice for the positions, asking Gbajabiamila to adopt the list sent by the PDP.

The PDP had written to the Speaker to state its preference for Chinda as minority leader, Chukwuka Onyema as deputy minority leader; Yakubu Barde, minority whip and Muraina Ajibola, deputy minority whip.

The party said it chose the lawmakers for the positions “in accordance with extant laws, House rules, conventions and general legislative practices worldwide”.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after wide consultations with house caucus, the party leadership from the geopolitical zones and the national working committee (NWC) hereby forward the names of the duly agreed and approved house minority leadership as follows,” the letter said.

But, Gbajabiamila insisted that there were nine other minority political parties in the House and the PDP alone could not determine who becomes the minority leader.

He then moved to read a letter which, according to him, was signed by 99 members of minority political parties on the leadership positions.

He was booed just as some lawmakers left their seats and started struggling for the mace.

It took the intervention of members of the Sergeant-at-Arms who rushed in preventing an unidentified lawmaker who attempted to remove the mace from the upper bracket.

Despite the rowdy session, Gbajabiamila read the letter, announcing Elumelu as minority leader, Toby Okechukwu as deputy minority leader, Gideon Gwani as minority whip and Adesegun Adekoya as deputy minority whip.

The Speaker then adjourned plenary till Thursday, July 4, 2019 amidst a tensed atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the House has set up an adhoc committee to investigate the attempt to snatch the mace.