Akpabio’s aide says Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s court filings show her Senate suspension was not nullified, despite her public claims of reinstatement
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension is once again in the spotlight, as a senior aide to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Kenny Okolugbo, has accused the senator of misleading the public about the status of her suspension from the Nigerian Senate.
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Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Okolugbo cited Ground 23 of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s own court filings in the case Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan v. Clerk of the National Assembly & Ors, stating that the court acknowledged the suspension was excessive but stopped short of declaring it void.
“Her appeal document shows the court didn’t nullify her suspension. Yet, she staged a return to the Senate, creating a media spectacle,” Okolugbo said.
He criticized the senator’s July 22 return to the Red Chamber, calling it “irresponsible” and lacking official clearance.
According to him, there was no court directive to the Senate Clerk or leadership mandating her reinstatement.
“The Senate is not a reality show,” he added. “You don’t force your way into a constitutionally regulated chamber.”
Okolugbo defended Senate President Akpabio, stressing that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension followed the Senate’s internal procedures and Section 60 of the 1999 Constitution.
He noted that the Senate had even provided a path for her return — a public apology.
“Even the Brekete Family advised her to apologise. She refused,” he said.
He further argued that her absence had not stalled legislative efforts in Kogi Central, pointing to the progress of her bill to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Ihima.
Okolugbo warned that politicizing gender in this context could undermine the credibility of genuine female political struggles in Nigeria, where only four women currently serve in the Senate.
“Weaponising gender to distort facts harms the cause of women in politics,” he said.
He concluded that the matter could still be resolved if the senator publicly apologises.
Also read: Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Defies Suspension, Returns to Senate Amid Tight Security
“If not, the legal process will take its course,” he said.
