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From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Senate has described forgery allegations raised by Adams Oshiomhole over the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as mischievous, insisting that claims of forged signatures on a committee report are unfounded.
Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu, who spoke to Daily Sun on Tuesday, dismissed the allegation and maintained that the upper chamber operates transparently and strictly within its rules.
Adaramodu further disclosed that the Senate would formally probe Oshiomhole’s remarks.
“We are going to review any statements made by him. The Senate will take a cursory look at either extraneous, spontaneous or intentional comments from any senator appropriately,” he said.
“We are going to look into it. We will take a stand, and everyone will know where we stand.”
He said Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was sanctioned purely for breaching Senate regulations, adding that the process leading to her suspension was conducted openly.
“Senator Natasha was sanctioned for violating the Senate rules. We made it clear that if anyone fails to abide by the rules, there will be consequences.
“The matter was openly tabled at plenary. Journalists were there, everybody was there, and the proceedings were conducted in the open. The issue was subsequently referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions,” he said.
He explained that the Ethics Committee handled the matter in line with Senate procedure, adding that the suspended senator was duly invited but failed to appear before the panel.
“When the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions submitted its report, Senator Natasha did not avail herself of the opportunity to appear before the committee, despite being invited.
“The Senate thereafter took a decision. The reasons for that decision were openly discussed and were not shrouded in secrecy,” he added.
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Responding directly to Oshiomhole’s allegation that some senators’ signatures were either forged or improperly appended to the committee report, Adaramodu rejected the claim outright.
“The issue of whether some people signed a document or did not sign a document simply did not arise,” he said.
“Furthermore, Senator Adams Oshiomhole is not an advocate for other senators. If any senator believed that an infraction had been committed against him or her, that senator would have raised the matter on the floor of the Senate,” he said.
He described the allegation as an afterthought, noting that the matter being referenced dates back several months.
“This issue being raised now concerns an event that occurred about a year ago. Somebody is simply making it up now, and I think that smacks of mischief,” he added.
“I do not believe any senator would allege that a colleague’s signature was forged by the leadership of the Senate in order to influence a Senate decision. It has never happened, it will not happen, and it cannot happen.”
Reiterating the chamber’s position on the Natasha matter, he said the suspension process was fully transparent.
“It was debated on the floor of the Senate openly at the plenary in the full glare of every Nigerian and even the international audience, and so nothing to hide,” he said.
“All Nigerians knew where we stood then on the issue of Natasha… that she ran foul of the Senate’s orders. And we are orderly because we are bound by the orders of the Senate.”
Oshiomhole had alleged in a televised interview that at least three senators privately told him they did not sign the committee report recommending Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension, despite their names appearing on the document.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, was suspended in March 2025 over what the Senate described as “gross misconduct and unruly behaviour” following her clash with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
