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…decries pattern of exclusion against her in 10th Senate
From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
There was a scuffle at the National Assembly on Monday as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the leadership of the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) of sidelining her in its activities, adding that it has become a pattern of exclusion against her in the 10th Senate.
It all started when the lawmaker arrived for a scheduled committee sitting but was informed that her name was not included in the official roll of committee members. A statement issued later in the evening by her media team said she immediately sought clarification from the committee clerk, who directed her to the office of the committee chairman, Titus Tartenger Zam.
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According to the statement, what followed raised further concerns as the chairman allegedly explained that the omission was based on directives from higher quarters, without offering further explanation. Dissatisfied with the reaponse, Sen. Natasha described the explanation as unsatisfactory and troubling, particularly given the significance of the committee’s mandate to her constituency and the wider North Central zone.
Akpoti-Uduaghan condemned what she termed a sustained effort to curtail her legislative rights, insisting that every senator, regardless of background or political leaning, is equal under the Constitution in authority, responsibility, and representation. She questioned the procedural basis for excluding her from a committee whose operations directly impact the interests of her constituents.
The situation, reportedly deteriorated when aides attached to the committee chairman clashed with members of her media team. The senator alleged that about six aides, including the chairman’s secretary, forcefully seized her cinematographer’s phone and verbally harassed her team, an incident she said was unbecoming of the Senate’s standards and decorum.
Reiterating her resolve to defend democratic norms, Akpoti-Uduaghan maintained that her protest was driven by a commitment to fairness and respect for the mandate conferred on her by voters in Kogi Central. She vowed to continue speaking out whenever legislative processes are manipulated to her disadvantage.
