The House of Representatives, on Thursday, was thrown into a rowdy session following the disclosure by the Deputy Spokesperson, Philip Agbese, that his signature was forged on the circulated list of opposition members who endorsed Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere as Minority Leader.
There were reports that 61 members of the Minority Caucus had appended their signatures to nominate Ugochinyere, a member of the Action People’s Party, APP, for the position of Minority Leader. Agbese’s name and signature were captured in the list.
An online newspaper, Aljazirah had also, published an exclusive report, where it was alleged that, each of the 61 Members collected the sum of $50,000, before appending their signatures.
Coming under a motion of person privilege on the floor of the House, Agbese denied ever endorsing Ugochinyere, saying the publication in the newspaper, vis-a-vis his signature, infringed his privilege as a member of the Minority Caucus.
“Yesterday I saw a document on the internet with my name reportedly nominating a member of this House for the post of minority leader,” he said.
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.
“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.
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.
“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, Agbese said, “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.
