‘Senate Is Gender-Blind’ – Aliyu Backs Senate Suspension Of Natasha, Cites Legislative Procedure

Nasarawa State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aliyu Bello, has applauded the Senate for suspending embattled Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months.

He argued that the move aligned with legislative procedures and should not be interpreted as gender bias.

Speaking via an opinion piece titled “Akpabio, Natasha, and Senate: A Question of Rules, Not Gender,” Bello argued that suspending Akpoti-Uduaghan was a matter of enforcing legislative order rather than an act of discrimination.

He pointed to past instances where male senators faced similar disciplinary actions, including the 2018 suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) for 90 days and the 2023 suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) over budget padding allegations.

“The Nigerian Senate has a well-documented history of suspending members—male and female—who breach its rules.

“Why, then, should Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s case be framed differently?” he said.

He further argued that equating her suspension with gender marginalization risked trivializing genuine struggles for equity.

According to him, “The Senate’s disciplinary mechanisms are gender-blind, prioritizing institutional integrity over individual identity.”

Bello emphasized that in a Senate of 109 lawmakers, no member, including those from Akpoti-Uduaghan’s party, opposed the suspension.

He maintained that enforcing parliamentary rules uniformly is key to maintaining order, urging advocates of gender equality to focus on systemic barriers rather than isolated cases.