Agbedi Emerges House Minority Leader as Reps End Leadership Tension

Agbedi Emerges House Minority Leader as Reps End Leadership Tension

The House of Representatives has confirmed a new leadership team for its minority caucus, ending weeks of political tension and internal disagreements among opposition lawmakers.

Hon. Frederick Agbedi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing Sagbama/Ekeremor federal constituency of Bayelsa State, emerged as the new Minority Leader during Thursday’s plenary in Abuja.

Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced the decision while reading a formal letter from the minority caucus, also confirming Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto) as Deputy Minority Leader, and Hon. Mansur Soro (APM, Bauchi) as Minority Whip.

Abbas said: “Today, the body of principal officers is complete… we congratulate the three members and wish them well.”

The leadership change followed the resignation of former Minority Leader Hon. Kingsley Chinda, who left the PDP after winning the APC governorship primary in Rivers State, creating a vacuum that triggered intense lobbying.

Tensions escalated when Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, initially nominated by the G-60 opposition bloc, withdrew his candidacy following a controversial amendment to the House Standing Orders.

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The amendment, sponsored by Hon. Babajimi Benson, introduced a requirement that principal officers must have completed at least one full four-year term in the House, effectively excluding first-term lawmakers.

Before the plenary, G-60 lawmakers staged a brief protest in the chamber, chanting “No announcement, no sitting,” insisting on their preferred leadership arrangement. The protest later subsided.

Ugochinyere, in a withdrawal letter read on the floor, said the decision followed changes to the House rules and was made in the interest of institutional order and unity within the caucus.

During the announcement, Speaker Abbas confirmed the consensus nomination of Agbedi and his deputies, noting that the House would work with the new leadership to achieve its legislative agenda.

Agbedi, a seasoned lawmaker who has represented his Bayelsa constituency since 2011, is expected to coordinate opposition activities in the chamber ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The new minority leadership team will oversee opposition engagement in a House dominated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), with responsibilities including legislative scrutiny and policy oversight.

Agbedi Emerges House Minority Leader as Reps End Leadership Tension