The Mykolaiv Regional Council has expelled Councillor Nikolenko from the standing committee for breaching the rules of procedure

Anatoliy Nikolenko. Archive photo NikVesti

The Mykolaiv Regional Council has expelled Anatolii Nikolenko, a councillor from the ‘For the Future’ faction, from the standing committee on the protection of human rights and freedoms, legality and law and order, anti-corruption and regulatory policy, rules of procedure, deputies’ activities and ethics, as well as communication policy.

The matter was considered at a session of the Mykolaiv Regional Council on 10 September.

The relevant proposal was tabled at the presidium of the regional council on 9 September by the committee chair, Iryna Pidpala. She cited systematic breaches of the rules of procedure and the disruption of the committee’s work as the reasons for the decision.

«For a long time, the councillor in question has been displaying behaviour that disrupts the work of the collegial body: he systematically breaches the rules of procedure of the regional council, ignores the established order of speeches, engages in discussions on unrelated topics that have no bearing on the matter under consideration or draft resolutions, assumes the role of meeting moderator, disrupts the consideration of the agenda during reports by heads of structural units and invited guests, asks questions that are irrelevant to the substance of the matter, and engages in arguments,» she noted.

Iryna Pidpala also proposed instructing the regional council’s secretariat to prepare a corresponding draft resolution and to approach law enforcement agencies and other institutions to request an assessment of the actions of councillor Anatolii Nikolenko.

«I would also ask you, Anton Viktorovich (Anton Tabunschyk, Chair of the Regional Council, — note), to approach law enforcement agencies and other institutions to request an assessment of the actions of Councillor Anatolii Anatoliiovych Nikolenko,» suggested Iryna Pidpala.

Anton Tabunschyk, Chair of the Regional Council, commenting on the proposal, stated that he had on several occasions been present at meetings where Nikolenko had spoken, in particular during hearings on the formation of the hospital district. According to him, the councillor’s behaviour was «outrageous», and therefore it must be met with an appropriate response.

At the same time, Anatolii Nikolenko, like every member of the regional council, must sit on a standing committee. Therefore, during the discussion in the presidium, it was noted that following his expulsion, he could submit a written application to join another committee.

The proposal was put to a vote during the session. Councillors supported the changes to the composition of the regional council’s standing committees. There were 38 votes in favour, whilst a further three councillors abstained.

Draft resolution on amendments to the composition of the standing committees of the Mykolaiv Regional Council of the eighth convocation

It should be recalled that Anatolii Nikolenko became a deputy of the regional council in 2024 following the resignation of deputies from the «For the Future» party — Oksana Kaliuzhna, Alona Karoi and Ruslan Neroda.

It should be noted that Anatolii Nikolenko was a councillor of the Mykolaiv Regional Council during the previous term. At that time, he represented the «Batkivshchyna» party. In 2019, he publicly supported the opening of the land market in Ukraine, accusing farmers of land grabbing. According to public registers, Anatolii Nikolenko heads the private enterprise «Sidkorn», which is engaged in the cultivation of cereals and oilseeds.