…Ozodinobi, Ogene, Elona Lead
As the House of Representatives reconvene after the sallah break, the minority caucus is depleted as the minority leader, deputy minority leader, and minority whip have all defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Meanwhile, three opposition lawmakers are said to be in contention to replace Hon. Kingsley Chinda as minority leader.
They include Hon. George Ozodinobi (NDC, Anambra), Hon. Afam Ogene (NDC, Anambra) and Hon. Alex Elona (PDP, Cross River).
New Telegraph reports that the erstwhile minority leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, is now the APC gubernatorial candidate in Rivers state, the deputy minority leader, Hon. Ali Madaki, formerly of NNPP, Kano, is in APC, just as the minority whip, Hon. Ali J.C from Gombe, has also left for the ruling party.
The House leadership is made up of two presiding officers and eight principal officers, with the opposition accounting for four.
With this development, the deputy minority whip, Hon. George Ozodinobi(NDC, Anambra), is the only minority representative in the leadership.
Before the House proceeded on the sallah break on May 6, Hon. Chinda had not formally announced his defection on the floor. So, not many people observed that he had, however, stopped acting as the minority leader, as the speaker and deputy speaker were rather dealing with Hon. Ozodinobi as the representative of the minority, in an unconfirmed capacity.
At the plenary of May 6, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas was referring to Hon. George Ozodinobi as the acting minority leader, causing the lawmaker to declare, “I hope the position becomes reality”.
New Telegraph, however, gathered that three opposition lawmakers are in contention for the position of minority leader.
An opposition lawmaker from Imo state, who spoke to our Correspondent in confidence on Monday night in Abuja, said they are committed to having a full complement of their leadership as soon as they reconvene.
He said, “As we speak, the minority parties are not happy with the vacuum created by the defection of three of our leaders. Already, they include Hon. George Ozodinobi (NDC, Anambra), Hon. Afam Ogene (NDC, Anambra) and Hon. Alex Egbona (PDP, Cross River)”.
Ozodinobi is the current deputy minority whip and “unofficial” acting minority leader. He represents Njokoka/Dunukofia/Anaocha federal constituency of Anambra state. He was elected on the platform of the Labour Party but later defected to the ADC alongside Peter Obi before finally settling with the NDC.
Ogene, a former deputy spokesperson of the House, presently serves as chairman of the Committee on Renewable Energy. He is also the caucus leader of the minority and a very close ally of the NDC presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi. He represents the Ogbaru federal constituency of Anambra state. He was also elected on the platform of the Labour Party but had to detour to ADC before finding his feet in NDC.
Egbona represents Yakurr/Abi Federal Constituency, Cross River State and is the Chairman of the House Committee on Speciality Healthcare. He was elected on the platform of the APC, but disagreement over his plot for a third term return made him jettison the ruling party to pitch a tent with the PDP.
