JUST IN: Senate Warns Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Against Premature Return
The Senate has issued a stern warning to suspended Kogi lawmaker, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, urging her to desist from resuming legislative duties ahead of the expiration of her suspension.
In a statement released on Sunday, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, stated that no valid court order exists compelling the Senate to recall the suspended senator.
“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,” Adaramodu said.
His remarks followed media reports suggesting that Akpoti-Uduaghan intended to return to the Senate on Tuesday, allegedly relying on a judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Adaramodu clarified that the Senate had already issued two public statements in response to the court ruling and the release of the Certified True Copy of the Enrolled Order. According to him, the court did not issue any binding directive but only offered a non-binding advisory recommending that the Senate review its Standing Orders and consider whether the suspension was excessive.
“The Court, however, explicitly held that the Senate did not violate any law or constitutional provision by suspending the senator for misconduct during plenary,” he added.
The Senate also noted that the same court had found Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of contempt, imposing a ₦5 million fine payable to the Federal Government and ordering her to issue a public apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page — a directive the lawmaker has yet to comply with.
“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,” Adaramodu said.
He cautioned that any attempt by the suspended senator to return to the Senate under “a false pretext” would be disruptive and in breach of legislative order.
“The Senate will, at the appropriate time, consider the court’s advisory on amending its Standing Orders and the matter of her recall and will communicate its decision to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
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“Until then, she is respectfully advised to stay away from the Senate chambers and allow due process to take its full course,” the statement concluded.
