Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator representing Kogi Central, has defied the Senate and appeared at the National Assembly complex.
She was sighted on Tuesday morning by our correspondent at the National Assembly park, arriving in a black SUV flanked by a convoy of accompanying vehicles. While she passed the first security checkpoint, she met resistance at the second gate.
Supporters marching alongside her convoy chanted in pidgin: “Na our Senator be this o, we no get another one,” with others responding, “Na our senator be this eh!”
The Senate had earlier warned her against forcefully resuming her legislative duties prior to the expiration of her suspension.
This caution followed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s announcement that she would return to plenary on Tuesday, citing a judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, stated that no court order mandates the Senate to reinstate the embattled lawmaker.
He said, “The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wishes to reaffirm, for the third time, that there is no subsisting court order mandating the Senate to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan before the expiration of her suspension.
“The Senate had previously issued two public statements after the court ruling and the release of the Certified True Copy of the Enrolled Order, making it clear that no positive or mandatory directive was issued against the Senate regarding her recall.
“Rather, the Honourable Court gave a non-binding advisory urging the Senate to consider amending its Standing Orders and reviewing the suspension, which it opined might be excessive.
“The Court, however, explicitly held that the Senate did not breach any law or constitutional provision in imposing the disciplinary measure based on the Senator’s misconduct during plenary.”
Adaramodu also noted that the same court found Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of contempt and imposed penalties, including a ₦5 million fine payable to the Federal Government and a mandatory public apology in two national newspapers as well as on her Facebook page—actions she is yet to fulfill.
“It is therefore surprising and legally untenable that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, while on appeal and having filed a motion for stay against the valid and binding orders made against her, is attempting to act upon an imaginary order of recall that does not exist,” he added.