Says it’s victory for constituents, all NigeriansFrom Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has resumed plenary after the expiration of the six-month suspension imposed on her by the Senate on March 6, 2025.

The Senate had suspended her over what it described as unparliamentary behaviour and breach of Senate rules following a series of altercations with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, after her seat position was changed.

Clad in a white outfit, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), took her reassigned seat quietly before the commencement of plenary yesterday.

Several colleagues approached her to exchange pleasantries as she settled in.

Reacting to the development, Akpoti-Uduaghan said her resumption represented a collective victory for her constituents and all Nigerians, who stood against what she described as ‘unscrupulous intimidation.’

“My attendance at plenary today is a testament of resilience by the good people of Kogi Central and Nigerians, especially their courage to resist every unscrupulous intimidation. While averting Rifkatu Danna’s dilemma, our victory is the people’s and God’s. I recommit myself to continued service to my constituents and country, while I trust the courts to be fair and swift in adjudicating the matters before them,” she said.

Danna, a former member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, was similarly suspended in 2016 for opposing the demolition of a market in her constituency. Her suspension, later declared illegal by the courts, became a reference point in legislative overreach and political victimisation, a case Akpoti-Uduaghan said she sought to avoid replicating through her legal challenge against the Senate’s action.

There was, however, no motion raised to formally readmit her to the chamber, or any confrontation with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who entered through the back entrance moments after the leadership procession had gone in through the main door. Akpabio later took over proceedings from Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who had begun the session.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resumption came amid tight security at the National Assembly and heightened expectations due to controversies surrounding the suspension. The lawmaker had, on September 23, resumed duties at her office in the National Assembly complex, which had been sealed since July.

Speaking to journalists then, Akpoti-Uduaghan had vowed that if she was requested to apologise to the Senate as a condition for her admittance to the chamber, she would decline.

She said: “I read somewhere that a leadership meeting was held yesterday and the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, would on October 7 read a motion calling on me to apologise. I am actually worried as to what apology they expect from me. You can’t apologise for an injustice.”

But, nothing of that sort came up during the plenary session.