Sixty-one of the 81 opposition members in the House of Representatives have formally endorsed Representative Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as Minority Leader-designate, submitting his nomination to Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and awaiting an official announcement to fill the vacancy created when former Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda defected to the All Progressives Congress and emerged as its governorship candidate in Rivers State.

Endorsements came from lawmakers across virtually all opposition parties in the House, including the Nigeria Democratic Congress, African Democratic Congress, Labour Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Accord Party, Action People’s Party, Allied People’s Movement, Social Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party, and the Peoples Democratic Party. Sources in the minority caucus described the consensus as cutting across regional, ethnic, religious, and political divides.

The nomination was transmitted to the Speaker in line with Order 7, Rule 7 of the House Standing Orders, which empowers members of minority parties to elect a leader from among themselves to coordinate and represent their interests in parliament. Opposition lawmakers said they were confident that the Speaker, whom they described as a fair and impartial presiding officer, would respect the decision of the majority and announce the new Minority Leader in the coming days.

The caucus has also reached agreements on nominees for other vacant leadership positions including the Deputy Minority Leader and Minority Whip, with one position already allocated to a Nigeria Democratic Congress lawmaker from the North-West geopolitical zone and consultations continuing on the remaining positions.