The House of Representatives minority caucus will meet in Abuja on Monday to deliberate on the lawsuit filed by its leader, Kingsley Chinda, to stop the alleged plot to kick him out of office.
A notice of meeting issued on Sunday and co-signed by Agbedi Frederick, leader of the Peoples Democratic Party caucus; Afam Ogene (Labour Party); Muktar Umar-Zakari (New Nigeria Peoples Party) and Peter Uzokwe for the Young Peoples Party listed the agenda of the event to include “Response to the Lawsuit instituted by House Minority Leader, Rt Hon Kingsley Chinda, against all minority parties and any other business.”
Recall that Chinda last week in a writ of summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1936/2025, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, dated September 25, 2025, stated that there were ongoing moves to remove him as Minority Leader of the House because of his close relationship with the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The Rivers lawmaker argued that if allowed, his removal would amount to unconstitutionality and a violation of his fundamental right to freedom of association, and on this note, prayed the court to restrain the defendants from proceeding with their alleged plans.
Listed as 1st to 12th defendants in the suit were the National Assembly, the Clerk of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, PDP, Labour Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Social Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress and Young Progressive Party.
The defendants were said to have allegedly resolved to remove Chinda because his leadership is one of the reasons the legislature is being tagged as a “rubber stamp” to the executive.
Chinda is allegedly seen as compromised by the minority leadership in the 10th Assembly, and opposition lawmakers have reportedly resolved to remove him when the House resumes from its vacation on Tuesday, October 7.
The minority leadership under Chinda has been accused of being overly cosy with the All Progressives Congress government, thus rendering them ineffective in holding the ruling party accountable for pressing issues like crippling hardship, rampant insecurity, and widespread corruption.
This suspicion has led to the opposition in the House losing trust in Chinda and in the opposition’s ability to provide robust oversight, thus sparking public outcry.
Specifically, Chinda is accused of failing to convene a single Minority Caucus meeting since the inauguration of the 10th House of Representatives over two years ago.
Additionally, he has been criticised for granting media interviews that contradict the collectively agreed position of the PDP and for allowing the Minority Caucus to be perceived as a lame-duck Assembly.
However, Chinda decided to be one step ahead and approached the court to challenge his purported removal by seeking the following declarations against the defendants:
“A DECLARATION that the move to remove the Plaintiff from his position as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on account of his association with Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, the current Honourable Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, is a clear violation of the Plaintiff’s right to freedom of association as guaranteed by Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“A DECLARATION that the Defendants lack the vires to remove the Plaintiff from his position as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria arbitrarily without full compliance with the provisions of Order 7 Rule 14 of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Eleventh Edition, and in a manner offensive to all civilised democratic norms.
“AN ORDER of INJUNCTION restraining the 6th-12th Defendants, their privies, agents, servants, officers howsoever described from further proceeding with any act or exercise purportedly aimed at removing the Plaintiff from his position as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in violation of the sacred provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and without compliance with the provisions of the extant Standing Orders of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Chinda also sought an order of injunction restraining the 1st-5th Defendants, their privies, agents, servants, officers, howsoever described, from giving effect to any exercise or instrument purporting to have removed him in disregard of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), or any Rules or Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.
He also sought any other order(s) as the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of the case.
Chinda, in his statement of claim, averred that he is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party with a membership card.
Chinda, who represents the people of Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers State in the House of Representatives, comprising 360 members, stated that the APC forms the majority in the House of Representatives with 233 members, while the PDP, his party, has about 83 members in the House, though the number is now subject to the current wave of defections.
He mentioned other parties with minority members in the House of Representatives to be LP with 22 members, NNPP with 15 members, APGA with 5 members, SDP with 2 members, ADC with 1 member and YPP with 1 member.
He contended that his party, the PDP, having the majority members of the minority parties, has the option of producing the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
He added that members of the political parties with minority members in the House of Representatives nominated him as the Minority Leader, a position he has occupied in the House to date.
He stated that the only reason given for the plot to remove him is that he associates with the FCT Minister, who is also a member of the PDP. He further noted that he and the FCT minister are both from the same political party in the Rivers State chapter.
He argued that while the House has a Standing Order, Eleventh Edition, which makes provisions for the procedures for removing any officer of the House, these have not been complied with, yet the minority members are determined to remove him.
He stated that the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, Eleventh Edition, provide that after due notice to the House, the Majority Party and the Minority Parties may change their Leader and Whip, Deputy Leader, and Deputy Whip, provided that the change is made by the majority of the members of the parties in the House themselves.
He said there is no such due notice to the House seeking a change in the leadership of the Minority Members of the House of Representatives, adding that the House is in recess, which started on July 23, 2025.
He argued that the majority of the members of the Minority Parties in the House have travelled, and there is no majority of members present to make or seek a change in the Minority Leadership of the House of Representatives.
The Plaintiff further averred that the change of the Minority Leadership of the House can only be made by the majority of the members of the Minority Parties in the House themselves after due notice to the House.
He said during the current recess of the House of Representatives, some minority parties of the House, mainly the PDP, have been holding clandestine meetings and lobbying members of the other minority parties to have him removed as Minority Leader of the House before its resumption, and to present same to the 4th Defendant on resumption of the House.
He argued that any purported exercise removing him as Minority Leader of the House can only become effective upon recognition by the 1st-5th Defendants.
“The Plaintiff states that from his cognate legislative experience in the House of Representatives, overwhelming political pressure is likely to weigh on the 1st-5th Defendants to succumb to the illegal exercise aimed at his removal, which is imminent.”
He stated that while the National Executive Committee meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party was in progress on Monday 25 August 2025, some members of the House of Representatives, under the auspices of the PDP caucus in the House, were also holding a meeting where the issue of his immediate removal was discussed and reserved for further deliberation in a meeting to be held the following week.
He said that by a publication made in a media platform on September 6, 2025, the 6th-12th Defendants met and made a decision to remove him and the Deputy Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, making it clear in the publication that the decision was based on his relationship with the FCT Minister.
For this reason, Chinda resolved to approach the court for redress because of the clandestine meeting, as reported by the newspaper, and because, as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, he was never invited to such a meeting.
“The Plaintiff further avers that by parliamentary practice, there ought to be cogent reason for the removal of an officer of the House of Representatives, which the Plaintiff’s relationship with a member of his Federal Constituency does not qualify as.
“The Plaintiff states that unless this Honourable Court intervenes, the move to illegally remove him will lead to a chaotic situation in the House of Representatives capable of adversely affecting governance at the federal level of government.”
He reiterated that the move by the defendants, jointly and severally, to remove him from his position as the Minority Leader on account of his association with Wike, who is a member of his political party, is a clear violation of his right to freedom of association and urged the court to stop them.
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