The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has requested that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator for Kogi Central, violate a mandate from the national assembly that prevents her from returning to legislative duties.
In a letter dated August 28, Akpoti-Uduaghan informed the clerk of the national assembly that she would resume on September 4, marking the end of her six-month suspension.
The member said that in July, the federal high court deemed the suspension “excessive and unconstitutional” and demanded her recall.
She also stated that the suspension had expired, allowing her to resume her “full duties as a distinguished senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” without regard for the appeals filed before the court of appeal.
Akpoti-Uduaghan also demanded urgent access to her Senate office, citing constitutional requirements and the need to prepare for plenary resumption.
She stated that her request was based on the necessity to review ongoing legislative work, catch up on committee assignments, address constituency issues, and prepare for parliamentary sessions.
In a response dated September 4, Yahaya Danzaria, acting clerk of the national assembly, denied the senator’s request.
According to Danzaria, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension began on March 6 and is still being litigated before the court of appeals.
“The matter therefore remains sub judice, and until the judicial process is concluded and the senate formally reviews the suspension in the light of the court’s pronouncement, no administrative action can be taken by this office to facilitate your resumption,” the acting clerk wrote.
However, in a statement made on Tuesday, PDP spokesperson Debo Ologunagba urged the senator to reject the national assembly’s mandate.
According to Ologunagba, the directive of the national legislature is “highly provocative and constitutes a clear and present danger to democracy and the overall stability of our country”.
“It also comes as part of the antics being deployed severally by the APC-controlled Senate and the federal government to suffocate the opposition, which further confirms the creeping totalitarianism in our country under the APC government,” the statement reads.
“The reported action by the Clerk of the National Assembly against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan further brings to the fore the allegations of attacks on the right of women and sustained attempts to stifle their voices, as witnessed in the various accusations of harassment against women levelled against the current Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over the years.”
Ologunagba asked Senate President Godwill Akpabio to “come clean on the various allegations instead of seeking to use the national assembly establishment to further harass, intimidate and keep” Akpoti-Uduaghan away from the upper legislative chamber.
“The extreme persecution of a six-month suspension unjustly imposed on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, contrary to the rules of the Senate, is more than enough, and the PDP stands with the people of Kogi Central and all well-meaning Nigerians in condemning this unwarranted renewed attack on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan,” he said.
He requested that the national assembly clerk retract the letter and “play by the rules by being neutral as a bureaucrat and not allowing himself to be politically entangled and used as a tool to undermine democracy and the rule of law”.
Ologunagba urged the international community, democratic institutions, and rights advocacy groups to condemn the “renewed attack” on Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Ologunagba asked the senator to “discountenance the reported letter by the clerk of the national assembly and get ready to resume at the senate”.
The PDP spokesperson said the senate leadership must allow Akpoti-Uduaghan to “resume her duties and perform her roles as an elected senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria unhindered”.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended by the senate for gross misconduct on March 6, following a seating arrangement altercation with the senate president.
The national assembly resisted previous attempts by Akpoti-Uduaghan to resume.
