The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has criticised an alleged scheme by the Clerk of the National Assembly and Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to prevent the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, from returning to the Senate following her six-month suspension.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party described the move as a blatant violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Standing Rules of the Senate, stressing that using the National Assembly’s machinery against a duly elected senator is both unlawful and provocative.
Senator Uduaghan was suspended on March 6, 2025, after the Senate adopted a committee report accusing her of insubordination for refusing to vacate her assigned seat. The suspension came with the loss of salaries, aides, and office privileges.
She, however, maintained that her suspension was politically motivated, linking it to a petition she filed against Senate President Akpabio over alleged sexual harassment, an accusation dismissed by the Senate. Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged the suspension in court and secured a judgment in her favour.
Despite the ruling, Senate leadership insisted she would serve out the full six-month penalty. In July, a dramatic standoff ensued when security operatives blocked her from re-entering the chamber, even as her supporters staged protests outside.
Her lawyer, Victor Giwa, disclosed that she was preparing to resume when the Senate reconvenes on September 23.
However, in a letter dated September 4, Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, reaffirmed that the suspension remains in effect pending a Court of Appeal judgment.
Reacting, the PDP condemned the action, calling it one of several tactics allegedly employed by the APC-led Senate and Federal Government to stifle the opposition.
The statement read, “The Peoples Democratic Party condemns in the strongest terms possible, the attempt by the Clerk of the National Assembly to bar Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming at the Senate after the unjust six months suspension imposed on her by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
“This reported action by the Clerk of the National Assembly smacks of a calculated attempt being orchestrated by the Senator Akpabio-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate leadership to abridge the right of representation of the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District and deny them a voice at the highest law-making body in the country.
“The attempt to use the National Assembly establishment against an elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in gross violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 (as amended) and the Standing Rules of the Senate is highly provocative and constitutes a clear and present danger to democracy and overall stability of our country.
“It also comes as part of the antics being deployed severally by the APC-controlled Senate and the Federal Government to suffocate the opposition which further confirms the creeping totalitarianism in our country under the APC government.”
The PDP urged the Senate President to address the allegations against him rather than using the National Assembly to harass and sideline Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, insisting that her six-month suspension was unjust
“The reported action by the Clerk of the National Assembly against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan further brings to the fore the allegations of attacks on the right of women and sustained attempts to stifle their voices as witnessed in the various accusations of harassment against women levelled against the current Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio over the years.
“The PDP demands that the Senate President should come clean on the various allegations instead of seeking to use the National Assembly establishment to further harass, intimidate and keep Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan away from the Senate.
“The extreme persecution of six months suspension unjustly imposed on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, contrary to the Rules of the Senate is more than enough and the PDP stands with the people of Kogi Central and all well-meaning Nigerians in condemning this unwarranted renewed attack on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“Our Party strongly cautions the Clerk of the National Assembly to withdraw the said letter and play by the rules by being neutral as a bureaucrat and not allow himself to be politically entangled and used as a tool to undermine democracy and the Rule of Law in the National Assembly and Nigeria,” the statement added.
The opposition party urged the international community, democratic institutions, rights advocacy groups, and development partners to speak out and condemn the renewed attack on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“While charging Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to discountenance the reported letter by the Clerk of the National Assembly and get ready to resume at the Senate, the PDP demands that the Senate leadership ensures that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is allowed to resume her duties and perform her roles as an elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria unhindered, it added.
