The House of Representatives has officially announced its minority leadership positions, bringing an end to a week-long controversy surrounding the nomination of principal officers for the opposition caucus. Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, made the announcement during Thursday's plenary after reading a communication from minority members of the 10th House of Representatives.
Mr. Tajudeen stated that the nomination was made pursuant to Order 7 Rule 7 of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, 12th Edition. He noted that the minority caucus had reached a consensus on the lawmakers to occupy the vacant leadership positions.
“By virtue of Order Seven Rule Seven of the Standing Orders, 12th Edition of the House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria, the minority members of the 10th Assembly have duly nominated the following members by consensus to fill the vacant positions of the minority in the Parliament,” the Speaker said.
The Speaker announced Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa) as the Minority Leader. He also named Manu Soro (APM, Bauchi) as the Minority Whip, while Abdussamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto) was appointed Deputy Minority Leader.
“The Minority Leader is Fred Agbedi. The Minority Whip, and the person they have endorsed, is no other than Right Honourable Manu Soro. The last, but not the least, is my brother from the Northwest, Right Honourable Abdussamad Dasuki, as the Deputy Minority Leader,” Mr. Tajudeen said.
Following the announcement, the Speaker congratulated the newly appointed principal officers, stating that the development completes the leadership structure of the House.
“Today, the body of principal officers is complete, and I want to seize this opportunity on behalf of the whole House to congratulate the three people and wish them all the best in their new positions,” he said.
He assured the new minority leadership of the House leadership's commitment to working with them towards achieving the legislative agenda of the 10th Assembly.
“The leadership of the House will work with them seriously in ensuring that we achieve our legislative agenda objectives of this very important Assembly,” he added.
After the announcement, minority lawmakers, including Ikenga Ugochinyere (APP, Imo), joined the newly appointed principal officers at the Speaker's lobby to formally welcome and congratulate them on their emergence. The gathering marked a show of unity among members of the minority caucus after days of disagreement over the leadership positions. The lawmakers exchanged pleasantries with the new leaders.
The announcement followed days of uncertainty over the minority leadership positions after an earlier move to nominate Mr. Ugochinyere as Minority Leader generated controversy among lawmakers. The dispute centered on the interpretation of House rules on eligibility for principal offices, particularly the requirement for “cognate experience” in legislative duties.
During Wednesday's plenary, Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun) moved a motion drawing the attention of the House to the provisions of its Standing Orders on the qualification of lawmakers for leadership positions. Mr. Salam argued that the rules required lawmakers nominated for principal offices to meet the stipulated legislative experience threshold.
The resolution of the disagreement paved the way for the minority caucus to submit a fresh consensus nomination, which was announced by the Speaker on Thursday.
