Akpoti-Uduaghan: One Suspension, Too Many
Two of the eight Senators that had been suspended since the commencement of the Fourth Republic in 1999 are members of the current 10th National Assembly, which was inaugurated less than two years ago. Sunday Aborisade reports.
The six months suspension slammed on the Kogi Central Senatorial District Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has continued to generate mixed reactions across the various various segments of the Nigerian society and in the international communities because of the controversy surrounding the action.
Some analysts who had spoken out on the decision of the Senate were of the view that even if Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had erred by speaking from the seat she was removed from, slamming a six month suspension on her was outrageous and had exposed the intolerant nature of the leadership of the 10th Senate.
They supported their position by reviewing the eight suspension cases so far witnessed in the last 26 years of the nation’s 4th Republic with the Senator Godswill Akpabio’s leadership of the 10th Senate recording two in less than two years.
According to the analysis, Senator Femi Okurounmu, who represented Ogun Central Senatorial District was suspended in 1999 after he had alleged that his fellow Senators were planning to impeach the then president Olusegun Obasanjo. He was later recalled after tendering an apology to the Senate.
The second person was Joseph Waku from Benue State who was suspended in 2000 when he suggested that a military coup would be preferable to allowing former president Obasanjo to continue ruling as a dictator.
The statement led to his suspension because it was coming at a time Nigerian democracy had yet to stabilize after years of military rule, was greeted with condemnation from Nigerians and the global community.
Another senator hit by the Senate sledge hammer was Senator Arthur Nzeribe from Imo Orlu Constituency over allegations of fraud. Nzeribe was indefinitely suspended in November, 2002 over a ₦22 million fraud allegation.
The gale of suspension continued in 2004 with Isah Mohammed from the Niger Central Senatorial District becoming a victim. Mohammed was suspended for two weeks after he physically assaulted Senator Iyabo Anisulowo outside the National Assembly lobby. The altercation was reportedly related to the disbursement of committee’s funds.
The Senate experienced a great deal of stability from 2004 to 2017 before the incident of suspension reared its ugly head again in 2017 with Ali Ndume from Borno South Senatorial District becoming a victim.
Ndume was suspended for six months after calling for an investigation into allegations involving former Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki and Senator Dino Melaye.
The Senator who represented Delta Central in the Eighth Assembly, Ovie Omo-Agege, got his own share in 2018 when he was suspended after opposing the election reordering bill.
Despite apologizing for his stance, he sought a court order to prevent the Senate from suspending him, but the action invariably earned him the suspension.
In the 10th Senate, two suspension incidents had been recorded in less than two years.
The first involved Senator Abdul Ningi from Bauchi Central, who was suspended for three months in 2024 after alleging that the National Assembly padded the 2024 budget by ₦3 trillion.
Few weeks into year 2025, it was the turn of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from Kogi Central, who was suspended on the 6th of March, 2025, for six months over alleged misconduct in the red chamber.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case was the most controversial that had drawn global outrage especially coming at a period when the world is celebrating the International Women’s Day and considering the fact that only four out of the 109 senators in the 10th Senate are women.
In 2018, Akpoti declared her intentions to run for Senator under the Social Democratic Party. On 25 May 2022, she won the PDP’s primaries for the 2023 Kogi State senatorial election but lost at the general election.
On 6 September 2023, she was declared winner by the election tribunal. On 31 October 2023, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ruled that she was the legitimate winner of the February 2023 senatorial election.
On February 20, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan caused an uproar in the Senate when she rose under Order 10 of the Senate Rules to challenge the leadership of the Red Chamber for relocating her seat without informing her.
Her action made her to clash with the Senate President, who refused to listen to her because she was not speaking from the new seat allocated to her, as stipulated in the Senate Rules.
Tempers rose when Akpoti-Uduaghan, refused all entreaties from her colleagues to accept the new sitting arrangement and a shouting match ensued between her and the Senate President.
The development forced Akpabio to order the Sergeant-At-Arms to lead her out of the chamber with a threat to suspend her if she refused to accept her new seat and keep quiet.
Normalcy was however, restored in the chamber following the intervention of other colleagues who prevailed on both Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan to give peace a chance.
Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Mohammed Monguno through a point of order cited sections of the Senate Standing Rules, to justify the reallocation of the seat within the chamber.
Monguno explained that the changes were necessary to accommodate changes caused by some opposition members who defected to the majority party, the APC.
He said such changes fall within the constitutional prerogative of the Senate President.
Monguno further emphasized that failure to comply with the new sitting arrangement could lead to penalties for “improper seating position.” including the possibility of being prevented from participating in Senate proceedings.
The following week, the Senate Spokesperson, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, rose under order 10 to draw the attention of his colleagues to the comments generated by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s action in the media and urged the red chamber to investigate it.
The matter was then referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions chaired by Senator Neda Imasuen from Edo South.
However, in dramatic twist on February 29, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan appeared on a live television programme, The Morning Show, aired by the Arise News Channel, accusing Senate President of making sexual advances towards her.
On March 5, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan submitted a petition on sexual harassment she authored against the Senate President and it was referered to the Ethics Committee.
Imasuen’s panel sat and took evidences from Adaramodu, the mover of the motion which was referred to it and other persons but Akpoti-Uduaghan shunned the panel’s public hearing saying she had already obtained a court order stopping the committee from sitting on the matter.
The committee threw away the petition submitted by Akpoti-Uduaghan on the grounds that it was against the Senate rules for a senator to write a petition in his or her name and submit same for consideration.
Consequently, on March 6, 2025, based on the adoption of the panel’s report, Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months, during which she was barred from her office while her allowances and security were withdrawn.
Before her suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan had filed a lawsuit against the Senate President, seeking ₦100 billion in damages. The matter had yet to be mentioned in court.
In the meantime, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele had faulted claims that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment.
Rather, he clarified that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended specifically due to her flagrant disobedience to Sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Senate Standing Orders 2023 (As Amended) and her unparliamentary behaviour during its plenaries and proceedings.
He said, “Contingent on the report of its Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, the Senate had suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months over alleged misconduct and refusal to comply with its sitting arrangement during the plenary.
“The Senate upheld her suspension with a proviso that if Akpoti-Uduaghan “submits a written apology, the leadership of the chamber may consider lifting the suspension before the six-month period expires.”
“Rather than submitting to the Authority of the Senate, Akpoti-Uduaghan had been misinforming the unsuspecting public that she was suspended because she accused the senate president of sexual harassment”.
However, Bamidele clarified in his statement that the disciplinary action against Akpoti-Uduaghan was unequivocally a response to her repeated violations of legislative decorum.
The statement further clarified that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition on sexual harassment failed to meet the clear and established procedural requirements for submitting petitions to the Senate.
The statement read in part, “It has come to the attention of the Senate that some media reports are attempting to falsely suggest that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was due to allegations of sexual harassment.
“This is completely untrue, misleading, and a calculated attempt to distort the facts. If Akpoti-Uduaghan had strictly followed our guiding principles, the Senate would have treated her petition based on merit in line with its practice.
“She never obeyed the established practices of the institution where she was serving”.
Specifically, the statement revealed that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was “a decision of the Committee of the Whole Senate, following the submission of a report by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges.”
The statement noted that the report found Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of violating Sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Senate Standing Orders 2023 (As Amended) and recommended her immediate suspension.
As established in the findings of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, the statement pointed out that the disciplinary action was “a response to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s repeated violations of legislative decorum stated below:
“Refusing to sit in her assigned seat during plenary on 25th February 2025, despite multiple pleas from the Minority Leader and other ranking Senators—an act of open defiance and disorderly conduct.
“Speaking without being recognized by the presiding officer, in clear violation of parliamentary practices and procedures on 25th February 2025.
“Engaging in unruly and disruptive behavior, obstructing the orderly conduct of Senate proceedings. Making abusive and disrespectful remarks against the leadership of the Senate.
“Defying and refusing to comply with the summons of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges mandated to investigate cases of misconduct,” the statement highlighted violations of the Senate Standing Order 2023 (As Amended) by Akpoti-Uduaghan.
It, therefore, noted that these actions represented a direct challenge to the Authority of the Senate and a violation of the Senate Standing Orders 2023 (As Amended) that govern the business of the Senate and the conduct of all its members without any exception.
The statement noted that the disciplinary measure was imperative, necessary and justified to restore order and uphold the integrity of the Senate as the country’s foremost democratic institution.
