The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of dragging the upper chamber into “legislative dictatorship and democratic anarchy” over the continued suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In a statement on Thursday, Joe Ajaero, NLC president, said the refusal of the Senate to reinstate the lawmaker despite a court ruling voiding her suspension was “a brazen, premeditated assault on democracy and a dangerous slide towards fascism”.
Ajaero said Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension, and the refusal to allow her return after its expiration amounted to disenfranchising the people of Kogi central senatorial district.
Part of the statement read: “The Senate’s pathetic recourse to a frivolous legal technicality, claiming the matter is subjudice; after the expiration of a patently illegal six-month suspension, is the height of legislative bad faith.
“It is a cynical ploy that reveals a sinister agenda to silence dissent, crush opposition, and manipulate the judiciary as a tool of political persecution.
“This action, led by Senator Akpabio, constitutes a gross abuse of power that shames the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly and spits on the collective will of the people of Kogi Central who elected Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“From our standpoint, this action is a direct attack on the Nigerian people. It is a declaration by a privileged political elite that they are not accountable to the citizens they purport to serve.
“By willfully disenfranchising an entire senatorial district, the Senate is effectively stealing the political representation for which the people pay taxes.
“This denies Kogi Central its right to participate in lawmaking, oversight, and the appropriation of national resources, directly impoverishing the constituents and perpetuating a system of exclusion and economic injustice.
“It signals to all Nigerians that their votes are meaningless and can be invalidated by the whims of any tyrannical leadership. This action is a direct attack on the Nigerian people.”
Ajaero warned that the labour movement would mobilise its members if the Senate continued to defy court orders and undermine democratic principles.