“I Never Did That” – Ugochinyere Denies Forgery Claim Amid Reps Showdown

There was a heated exchange in the House of Representatives on Thursday between a member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, Philip Agbese and his fellow lawmaker, Ikenga Ugochinyere.

It was understands that the dispute started when Agbese raised a matter of personal privilege accusing Ugochinyere of using his signature without authorisation in a document purportedly nominating him for the office of minority leader.

Agbese told the House that he was shocked to find a document in circulation online with his name and signature in support of Ugochinyere’s bid for the opposition leadership position.

He said that he had held discussions with several lawmakers including Ugochinyere on issues of the welfare of minority lawmakers and constituency projects but never endorsed any nomination document.

“I feel my legislative privilege has been breached because if I sign this document, that amounts to forgery for my signature to be used for purposes for which it was not intended,” Agbese said.

He called on the House leadership to investigate the matter and halt what he described as more efforts by Ugochinyere and his cohorts to tarnish his image.

The Benue lawmaker also dismissed social media reports alleging that some lawmakers had received $50,000 to back a particular candidate for the minority leadership position.

“My constituents have been reaching out to me. I have not received any amount of money from anybody and I will not receive. “This is my integrity,” he said.

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen responded by acknowledging Agbese’s complaints and assuring him that the matter would be looked into.

“We will come back to you on the issue you have raised in due course. But again, I want to bring to the notice of all the minority members that I am calling all the minority members of this House for a closed-door meeting today by 2 p.m. so that we can discuss further,” Abbas said.

However, things got worse when Ugochinyere sought the indulgence of the Speaker to make a personal explanation insisting that, the allegations made against him on the floor and during a live broadcast could not go unanswered.

The Imo lawmaker denied the allegation of forgery, saying that Agbese personally signed the nomination form to support his ambition to become the minority leader.

Agbese, he said, came to a meeting venue and voluntarily endorsed his nomination in the presence of several lawmakers who could testify to the development.

Agbese interrupted him several times, shouting, “I never did that!” His comments were met with loud protests.

The exchange turned into a shouting match with lawmakers from both sides joining in and the Speaker having to repeatedly call for order as some members sought to calm the situation.

Despite the uproar, Ugochinyere said his nomination had the backing of most opposition lawmakers.

“I understand that at the moment the overwhelming majority of 61 members out of 81 opposition members elected me. Their desperation will go to this level, I never thought it will come to this level, it may not be palatable to some people,” he said.

He called the allegation of forgery “a treacherous lie” and promised to bring forward witnesses who were present when the nomination document was signed.

Once again the Speaker intervened, advising lawmakers to desist from further exchanges and allow the matter to be resolved at the scheduled meeting of opposition members.

But before normalcy could be restored, another lawmaker rose on a point of order, saying that Ugochinyere’s claim that he was elected by opposition members should be expunged from the records of the House since the matter was not formally before the chamber.

The lawmaker said the only official way for the opposition caucus to determine and present its leadership to the House was through an official vote, and that any declaration made on the floor was a personal opinion.