The House of Representatives was thrown into a rowdy session on Thursday, June 4, after the Deputy Spokesperson of the House, Philip Agbese, alleged that his signature was forged on a circulated list of opposition lawmakers said to have endorsed Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere for the position of Minority Leader.
Naijaonpoint understands that the controversy followed reports that 61 members of the Minority Caucus had allegedly signed a document nominating Ugochinyere, a member of the Action People’s Party, for the principal office.
Agbese’s name and signature were reportedly included on the list, a development he rejected on the floor of the House.
The matter was further complicated by a report by an online newspaper, Aljazirah, which alleged that each of the 61 lawmakers collected $50,000 before appending their signatures to the document.
Coming under a motion of personal privilege, Agbese said the publication and the use of his name on the endorsement list had infringed on his privilege as a member of the House and the Minority Caucus.
He denied signing any document nominating Ugochinyere as Minority Leader, saying his signature was used without his consent.
“Yesterday I saw a document on the internet with my name reportedly nominating a member of this House for … of minority leader,” he said.
Agbese explained that although he had held discussions with several lawmakers, including Ugochinyere, such discussions were not about endorsing anyone for the position of Minority Leader.
According to him, his engagements with Ugochinyere centred on the welfare of minority lawmakers and issues affecting constituency projects.
“I had conversed, deliberated and visited many members of this House. One of the persons I had such discussions with was my colleague, Honourable Ikenga Ugochinyere. Our discussion was basically centred on the welfare of members of the minority.
“Number two was on the issue of the executive not adhering to issues concerning our constituency projects,” he said.
Agbese insisted that he did not authorise anyone to include his name or signature on the nomination list.
He alleged that the person said to have signed the document on his behalf was someone he had not seen for months.
“The person who signed this document, Honourable Seyi, I have not seen him since December 2025, so I am at a loss and 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,” he said.
The lawmaker also denied receiving any money from anyone in connection with the alleged endorsement.
“I saw on a social media blog that members have received a certain amount of money. I have not received any amount of money from anybody,” he said.
Agbese said the allegation had generated concerns among his constituents, who had been calling him to seek clarification.
“My constituents have been calling me to know. This is not the first time my name is being mentioned in an issue like this. I don’t want to be involved and I don’t want my name to be further maligned as far as this is concerned because I have a right as a member of this House for my privileges to be fully protected,” he added.
Speaking further, he said the matter had to do with his personal integrity and should be properly investigated by the House.
“This is my integrity I am talking about, I never signed any document and I never received any amount of money and I will never do.
“I will tender the list to the House as well as the link to the online report for this House to investigate the matter,” he said.
In his ruling, the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, said Agbese’s motion had been noted and assured that the House would take appropriate action in due course.
However, shortly after the ruling, Ugochinyere rose under a motion of personal explanation, insisting that there was a need for him to respond to the allegations made against him on live broadcast.
Ugochinyere told the House that Agbese was absent at the meeting where he was selected by what he described as an overwhelming majority of the Minority Caucus.
He, however, claimed that Agbese later followed him to his office to append his signature on the document already signed by other members who supported his emergence.
