Minority leadership: PDP lawmakers reject suspension of Elumelu

- Lawmakers on the platform of the PDP passed vote of confidence on suspended members

- The members were suspended following their announcement as minority leaders by Femi Gbajabiamila

- The PDP lawmakers said they would not allow imposition of leaders

The minority caucus in the House of Representative has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rescind its decision on the suspension of minority principal officers of the House.

At a news conference on Monda, July 8, in Abuja, the caucus passed a vote of confidence on the suspended officers as well as speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP had on Thursday, July 4, suspended Ndudi Elumelu who is the minority leader of the House.

The party also suspended Toby Okechukwu, the deputy minority leader; Gideon Gwani, the minority whip, Adesegu Adekoya who is the deputy minority whip and two ranking members, Wole Oke and Lynda Ikpeazu.

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Speaking on behalf of the caucus, Legor Idagbo said that the selection of the officers was in conformity with the House rules and Order 7 Rule 8, which derives strength from section 60 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Quoting the rules, Idagbo said “members of the minority parties in the house shall nominate from among themselves, the minority leader, minority whip, deputy minority leader and deputy minority whip.”

Idagbo said that members of the minority parties adhered to the provisions of the rules in selecting Elumelu, as minority leader. He said that the rule was also applied in selecting Toby Okechukwu as deputy minority leader, Gideon Gwani as minority whip and Adesegun Adekoya as deputy minority whip.

He said that the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, was communicated to by majority members of minority parties on July 2 and the decision which was announced on July 3, 2019.

Idagbo said that the parliament since 1999 had remained an independent body as it has not been coerced into accepting any leadership imposed by external influence.

“We would like to appeal to our party chairman and the NWC of our great party, who we know are seasoned and experienced politicians that understand this dynamics to rescind their earlier decision to suspend our leaders.

“Through no fault of theirs were nominated and elected by majority of members of the minority parties; were an offense to had been committed in this process, the perpetrators would be all 111 of us not six members as were suspended by our great party.

“We use this opportunity to sue for peace and to state that we are available for further discussions with the NWC of our great party on how to resolve these issues and move our party forward,” he said.

The caucus called on well-meaning party leaders, particularly those with legislative experience to intervene in order to salvage the situation.

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The lawmakers commended the national chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, for the great job of piloting the affairs of the party that had seen its fortune increased in the last few years. The caucus said it remained resolute to work closely with the national chairman and the party in ensuring that it returns to power in 2023.

Recall that Legit.ng reported that Elumelu was suspended by the PDP two days after he was named minority leader by Gbajabiamila against the wishes of the opposition party.

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Source: Legit.ng