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Akpabio ejects Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from Senate Chamber

THE Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday, February 20, barred the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, from participating in plenary over her seat that was changed without her consent.

The tension began during plenary when Akpoti-Uduaghan’s seat was relocated upon resumption of the session, leading to heated arguments between her and the Senate leadership.

Akpabio said the changes were necessary to adjust for shifts caused by some opposition members moving to the majority wing of the Senate chamber.

The Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, cited sections of the Senate rules in a point of order to justify the seat reassignment.

He said Akpoti-Uduaghan had the constitutional prerogative to make such adjustments were necessary to accommodate shifts caused by the members moving to the majority wing occupied by the All Progressives Congress (APC) members.

Monguno further emphasised that failure to comply with the new seating arrangement could lead to penalties, including the possibility of being barred from participating in discussions on the Senate floor.

Upholding this position, Akpabio ruled in favour of the order. However, when Akpoti-Uduaghan raised her hand to speak, she was denied recognition because she was not addressing the chamber from her newly assigned seat.

Refusing to back down, Akpoti-Uduaghan, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), raised her voice in protest, directly confronting the Senate President.

“I don’t care if I am silenced. I am not afraid of you. You have denied me my privilege,” she said.

Akpabio turned off Akpoti-Uduaghan’s microphone in an attempt to silence her while she was still making her motion, but she kept speaking.



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Consequently, Akpabio ordered the sergeant-at-arms to walk her out, but after the intervention from various lawmakers, calm was restored but she declined to move.

Reacting to Akpabio’s action, a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said Akpabio hated opposition and would never survive his action if he had displayed such a character in South African Parliament.




     

     

    “Senator Akpabio cannot survive one day in the South African Parliament. He is lucky to be the Senate President of a country where the opposition is useless. As Minority Leader, Akpabio himself rarely opposed anything” Effiong said on his Facebook page.

    Attack not Akpabio’s first on Natasha

    During plenary In July 2024, Akpoti-Uduaghan commented on a motion without Akpabio’s consent. In his attempt to correct her, he said the Senate was not a nightclub where anybody could talk anyhow.

    Akpabio bowed to pressure as he apologised to Akpoti-Uduaghan two days later for comparing her conduct in the Senate to that of a nightclub.

    The ICIR reported that the Senate President’s comment caused social media outrage as women groups criticised him for the action and described his attitudes towards female senators as not only insulting but a denigration of the female gender and an attempt to stifle female voices.

     

     

     

     

     

    Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.

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