Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, has waded into the crisis threatening Kingsley Chinda’s position as minority leader, TheCable can report.
Opposition lawmakers met behind closed doors on Monday night to decide Chinda’s fate, but in an unusual move, Abbas joined the session with the minority leader and urged aggrieved members to give him time to resolve the crisis, appealing for peace.
Sources told TheCable that the session, which began at 8 pm and lasted until about 11:30 pm, became heated after several lawmakers insisted on Chinda’s removal over his decision to secure a court order restraining opposition parties from replacing him.
“Abbas is not part of the caucus, but because of the seriousness of the issue, he came. He begged that Chinda should be allowed to explain himself,” a source familiar with the opposition politics told TheCable.
BACKGROUND
Chinda, a close ally of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is facing mounting resistance from opposition lawmakers who argue that his ties with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are weakening the unity of the caucus.
They argued that the perception of complacency has eroded confidence in Chinda’s ability to provide effective leadership to the opposition and in holding the ruling party accountable.
Lawmakers said Chinda has not convened a meeting of the minority caucus since the 10th assembly was inaugurated.
Chinda, who represents the Obio/Akpor federal constituency of Rivers, had secured an ex parte order from the federal high court in Abuja, stopping all parties from taking any action to remove him pending the determination of a motion on notice.
The suit listed the national assembly, clerk of the national assembly, house of representatives, speaker of the house, and clerk of the house as defendants.
The PDP, Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Young Progressives Party (YPP) were also joined as respondents.
In an affidavit deposed to in the court, Chinda said some PDP lawmakers had been holding “clandestine meetings and lobbying members of the other minority parties to have me removed as Minority Leader of the house before the resumption of the house”.
He said “the only reason given for the plot to remove him was his association” with Wike.
The suit, sources said, infuriated lawmakers who insisted on his removal.
MONDAY’S MEETING
TheCable learnt that during the meeting on Monday, Chinda told the lawmakers that the suit was intended to allow him time to resolve the issues to avoid being disgraced.
Opposition lawmakers met behind closed doors on Monday night to decide Chinda’s fate, but in an unusual move, Abbas joined the session with the minority leader and urged aggrieved members to give him time to resolve the crisis, appealing for peace.
Sources told TheCable that the session, which began at 8 pm and lasted until about 11:30 pm, became heated after several lawmakers insisted on Chinda’s removal over his decision to secure a court order restraining opposition parties from replacing him.
“Abbas is not part of the caucus, but because of the seriousness of the issue, he came. He begged that Chinda should be allowed to explain himself,” a source familiar with the opposition politics told TheCable.
BACKGROUND
Chinda, a close ally of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), and member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is facing mounting resistance from opposition lawmakers who argue that his ties with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are weakening the unity of the caucus.
They argued that the perception of complacency has eroded confidence in Chinda’s ability to provide effective leadership to the opposition and in holding the ruling party accountable.
Lawmakers said Chinda has not convened a meeting of the minority caucus since the 10th assembly was inaugurated.
Chinda, who represents the Obio/Akpor federal constituency of Rivers, had secured an ex parte order from the federal high court in Abuja, stopping all parties from taking any action to remove him pending the determination of a motion on notice.
The suit listed the national assembly, clerk of the national assembly, house of representatives, speaker of the house, and clerk of the house as defendants.
The PDP, Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Young Progressives Party (YPP) were also joined as respondents.
In an affidavit deposed to in the court, Chinda said some PDP lawmakers had been holding “clandestine meetings and lobbying members of the other minority parties to have me removed as Minority Leader of the house before the resumption of the house”.
He said “the only reason given for the plot to remove him was his association” with Wike.
The suit, sources said, infuriated lawmakers who insisted on his removal.
MONDAY’S MEETING
TheCable learnt that during the meeting on Monday, Chinda told the lawmakers that the suit was intended to allow him time to resolve the issues to avoid being disgraced.