JUST IN: Fracas in Reps as Elumelu emerges Minority Leader

There was fracas and confusion in the House of Representatives on Wednesday as Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila announced Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta) as the Minority Leader against the wishes of some opposition lawmakers loyal to Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers).

The chaos started when Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) and some lawmakers loyal to him protested and snatched the mace, which turned the ongoing plenary to a rowdy session, and subsequently to an abrupt end.

Chinda’s group were protesting that the letter read by the Speaker, which purportedly nominated Elumelu as Minority Leader did not emerge from the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and as such “null and void.”

However, the Elumelu group are of the view that the responsibility of electing minority leadership rests not only on PDP but on all the minority parties in the House, “which we have done with no regrets.”