Controversy Rocks Senate Over Natasha’s Suspension As Senators Deny Endorsing Ethics Committee Report

The controversy surrounding the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has deepened amid claims that the signatures attached to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions’ report were meant for attendance, not an endorsement of the suspension.

This discrepancy reportedly caused confusion during a closed-door Senate meeting, as some senators claimed their signatures had been misrepresented to suggest unanimous support for the suspension.

Naija News reports that on March 5, members of the Senate Committee on Ethics convened to investigate the dispute between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio over seating arrangements. Senators present at the meeting signed the attendance register, while some others abstained.

According to Senate rules, any senator, regardless of committee membership, may attend a committee meeting and sign the attendance register.

On March 6, when the ethics committee chairman, Neda Imasuen, presented the report to the Senate, the signatures from the attendance sheet were included, creating the impression that all signatories endorsed the report’s recommendations.

One of the key recommendations in the report prohibited Akpoti-Uduaghan from identifying herself as a senator, both locally and internationally, during her six-month suspension.

However, some senators who signed the attendance register have reportedly distanced themselves from the report, arguing that they were not allowed to review the final draft before it was presented.

A senator who attended the meeting but requested anonymity told Premium Times that the correct procedure should have involved committee members reviewing and approving the report before its presentation. Instead, they only saw it when it was publicly read on the Senate floor.

On March 6, the Senate voted to suspend Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, based on the ethics committee’s findings that she engaged in misconduct during a plenary session on February 20 and refused to comply with the chamber’s seating arrangement.

Sanctions and Conditions for Reinstatement

The Senate imposed several penalties on Akpoti-Uduaghan, including:

• The withdrawal of all her security aides.
• The closure of her office at the National Assembly.
• A directive to hand over all Senate property in her possession to the Clerk of the National Assembly.
• A ban from entering the National Assembly premises during her suspension.
• The suspension of her salary and allowances.
• A prohibition on identifying herself as a senator at both national and international levels.

However, the Senate provided a path for lifting the suspension, stating that Akpoti-Uduaghan could be reinstated if she submitted a written apology that the leadership deemed satisfactory before the six-month period expired.

On Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan took her case to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), seeking international intervention in her suspension.

Speaking at an IPU meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York, she also accused Senate President Akpabio of sexual harassment.

She described her suspension as unlawful and an attempt to silence her for speaking out against alleged misconduct within the Nigerian Senate.

Senators Push Back Against Signature Use

A Premium Times source confirmed that some members of the ethics committee raised concerns about the misuse of their signatures during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, which lasted approximately two hours.

Among those objecting were two senators from the North-West, one from the North-East, and another from the North-Central zone. They argued that their signatures were misused because they had not explicitly endorsed the report’s recommendations.

Their argument was based on the principle that signing an attendance register does not equate to supporting a resolution. They insisted that their signatures should not have been attached to a report they had neither reviewed nor approved.

The senators also emphasized that, in the interest of transparency and due process, the report should have been circulated among committee members before being presented.

However, some senators at the meeting argued that attendance at a session implies participation in decisions made during that meeting. They contended that once a committee reaches a decision, no further signatures are needed for endorsement.

This controversy over signatures has intensified concerns that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was not carried out with due process.

Efforts to reach Neda Imasuen for comment were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to calls or text messages. Similarly, attempts to contact Senators Daura, Katung, and Kingibe were unsuccessful, as their phones were unreachable.