ABUJA, Nigeria — Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has claimed that her Thursday, March 6, 2025, suspension from the National Assembly was not due to a procedural altercation, but a politically motivated act driven by a “pre-written script” to silence her.
In an interview with US-based journalist Adeola Fayehun, Akpoti-Uduaghan said her removal from the chamber was premeditated and directly linked to a petition she submitted against the Senate leadership just one day before the incident.
“The impression being circulated is that I caused a scene over my seat. That is false,” she said.
“I raised a matter of privilege under chapter 4, Item 9b of the Senate rules — a provision that demands immediate attention. But the Senate president cut me off, ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove me, and directed the clerk to begin preparing my suspension letter. That wasn’t a reaction; it was a pre-written script.”
The senator accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of acting outside the bounds of parliamentary authority by unilaterally ordering her removal.
“He has no authority to unilaterally suspend any senator on the floor,” she said.
“The way he handled it — like I was a staff member in his living room — was not only unlawful but also degrading.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan added that her attempt to raise critical issues, including a probe into Ajaokuta Steel Company, had received the support of President Bola Tinubu, which she believes triggered political backlash within the Senate.
“Whenever I have critical issues to raise… I did meet with Mr President to make sure he knew the nature of it,” she said.
“The Senate president told my husband, ‘Are you aware that your wife goes to see the President?’ and my husband told him he was aware. That actually annoyed him.”
Responding to claims made by Sandra Duru, who accused her of working against the South-West, Akpoti-Uduaghan denied harbouring ethnic sentiments.
“I am half Nigerian and half Ukrainian — who am I to talk about tribe when I am actually one part of the other world?” she said.
“People who know me know that I am not a tribalist.”
She alleged that Duru’s statement was sponsored by political opponents who were unsettled by her growing support base.
“Her sponsors are the ones who have probably put those words to her because they knew that I had enjoyed a lot of support from Nigerians — not just in Kogi State, but across the country and even in the diaspora.”
The senator said her suspension was an unjust retaliation for her outspoken stance in the Senate.
“I believe my suspension was retaliatory. The ethics report they cited was merely a smokescreen,” she said.
“I submitted allegations that shook the system, and the next day, I was silenced.”
She also dismissed the Senate’s assertion that her suspension had no link to her earlier accusation of sexual harassment against the Senate president.
“I want the people to know my issue is with the Senate president — not the entire Senate, the Nigerian people, the institutions, or the presidency.”
