A chaotic scene unfolded in the House of Representatives on Thursday as the Minority Caucus walked out of the chamber. Their exit was a formal protest against the methods used to pass a constitutional amendment bill regarding the creation of state police.
Led by Minority Leader Fredrick Agbedi, the group argued that the House leadership ignored established Standing Orders and constitutional mandates. Agbedi clarified that the caucus does not oppose the idea of state police itself, but rather the failure of the Speaker to follow legal parliamentary protocols.
During his address to the press, Agbedi pointed out that the Speaker, while leading the Committee of the Whole, bypassed the required constitutional process for altering the country’s laws. He specifically noted that member presence must be verified by official registers rather than verbal roll calls.
The caucus emphasized that Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution demands that amendments undergo a strict clause-by-clause review. They further cited Order 13 Rule 15(a), which necessitates a two-thirds majority vote for each clause to officially pass. The minority members claimed that the current legislative process failed to meet these essential requirements.
