The National Assembly has turned down moves by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to resume her legislative duties, insisting that her six-month suspension is still in force until a Court of Appeal delivers judgment on the case.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, had written to the Senate, notifying the leadership of her plan to return to plenary on September 4, a date she claimed marked the expiration of her suspension.
However, in a letter dated September 4 and signed by the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, the Senate clarified that her suspension, which began on March 6, 2025, has not been vacated.
“The matter remains sub judice, and until the judicial process is concluded, no administrative action can be taken to facilitate your resumption,” the letter read in part.
The suspension followed allegations of insubordination after the lawmaker reportedly refused to change her designated seat during plenary. Based on the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, she was stripped of her aides, office privileges, and salaries.
Akpoti-Uduaghan has maintained that her punishment was politically motivated.
She insists her ordeal was linked to her petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment—an allegation the Senate dismissed.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, her counsel, Victor Giwa, said the lawmaker had planned to return later this month after what she considered the completion of her suspension.
“Senator Natasha has already made arrangements to resume alongside her colleagues once the Senate reconvenes on September 23,” Giwa explained.
But the Senate leadership reiterated that her fate now rests with the appellate court.
“The Senate will only review the matter after the Court of Appeal pronounces on it,” the statement from the clerk added.
The senator’s earlier attempt to re-enter the chamber in July had ended in a standoff when security operatives barred her entry despite a rally of supporters outside the National Assembly.
