“No Announcement, No Sitting” – Opposition Lawmakers Demand Swearing-In of Fred Agbedi as Minority Leader

There was a mild drama at the National Assembly on Thursday as opposition members of the House of Representatives insisted on the declaration of Fred Agbedi as the Minority Leader of the House.

The lawmakers who held a meeting at the lobby said the plenary scheduled for today would not hold unless Agbedi was declared Minority Leader.

In a trending video, the lawmakers were seen chanting “no announcement, no sitting.”

The House is preparing to vote on major constitutional amendments, including the long-anticipated State Police, it was reported.

The protesting members were identified as the G-60 opposition caucus in the House.

Members of the group led by Ikenga Imo-Ugochinyere have endorsed the candidate of Bayelsa State, Fred Agbedi for the position of Minority Leader and Abdusammad Dasuki for the position of Deputy Minority Leader, representing Kebbe-Tambuwal Federal Constituency of Sokoto State.

The legislators stormed plenary Thursday, calling on the House leadership to address the minority leadership position, which they said would delay plenary proceedings if not addressed.

It would be recalled that the race for emergence of a new Minority Leader of the House had taken different turns in recent weeks following the resignation of Kingsley Chinda from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ikenga Ugochinyere, the member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State in the House of Representatives, had declared interest to the position of Minority Leader of the House, but his bid suffered constant setbacks.

But a peace deal between the G-60 group and the House leadership resulted in Thursday’s demand that Agbedi be named the new Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.