Minority Leadership Tussle Rocks House of Representatives Over Signature Forgery Allegation

The House of Representatives was thrown into a rowdy session on Thursday following a dispute over the endorsement of Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere as Minority Leader, with Benue lawmaker Philip Agbese alleging his signature was forged on the nomination document.

A document circulating among lawmakers indicated that 61 of the 81 opposition members in the House had endorsed Ugochinyere to replace former Minority Leader Hon. Kingsley Chinda, who resigned after defecting to the APC.

Agbese said his attention was drawn to the document late Wednesday evening and maintained he had not met with Ugochinyere since December 2025.

Forgery Allegation

“I feel that my legislative privilege has been breached because this amounts to forgery for my signature to be used for purposes which were not intended. I have not received any amount of money from anybody and I will not do so. This is my integrity,” Agbese said.

Ugochinyere rejected the allegation, insisting Agbese visited his office voluntarily and signed the nomination in the presence of colleagues.

“My brother arrived from Benue, met me in the office in the presence of some of my colleagues and voluntarily, on his own and independently, pledged and signed my nomination for the post of Minority Leader,” Ugochinyere said.

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen ordered an investigation and said all minority lawmakers had been invited to a closed-door meeting to resolve the leadership dispute.

Sources: Daily Trust, Vanguard, The Nation, TVC News