Follow Us on Google
From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Senate has warned suspended lawmaker, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, against making what it described as premature and unlawful return to the chamber, insisting that no valid court order has mandated her recall.
This clarification followed reports that the Kogi Central Senator intends to resume plenary tomorrow based on a recent judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, the Senate restated that it had already addressed the judgment in two prior public statements and found no basis for an immediate recall.
“There is no subsisting court order mandating the Senate to recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan before the expiration of her suspension.”
The Senate explained that while the court made certain advisory remarks urging the Senate to review its Standing Orders and consider reducing the suspension, no binding order was issued to that effect.
“Rather than issuing a directive, the court merely advised the Senate to consider amending its Standing Orders and reviewing the duration of the suspension, which it considered excessive. But it categorically held that no constitutional or legal breach was committed by the Senate in sanctioning the lawmaker,” Adaramodu noted.
The Senate also recalled that the same judgment found Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan guilty of contempt of court, imposed a N5 million fine payable to the Federal Government, and ordered her to publicly apologise in two national dailies and on her Facebook page. None of these directives, it said, have been complied with.
Other News
“It is, therefore, surprising and legally untenable that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, while appealing the judgment and seeking a stay of execution of the very orders made against her, is now attempting to return to the chamber based on an imaginary order of recall.”
Warning against any attempt by the lawmaker to force her way into the Red Chamber, the Senate said such a move would be seen as a violation of due process and an affront to the institution.
“We advise the Distinguished Senator to refrain from any attempt to storm the Senate next Tuesday under a false pretext. Such action would be premature, undermine the dignity of the Senate, and disrupt legislative proceedings.”
Adaramodu reaffirmed the Senate’s commitment to the rule of law, stating that the upper chamber would in due course consider the court’s advisory opinion and communicate its position accordingly.
“Until then, she is respectfully advised to stay away from the Senate chambers and allow due process to run its full course,” the statement concluded.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended in March for what the Senate described as gross misconduct and unruly behaviour following a clash with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over a change in her sitting position in the chamber.
However, the lawmaker insists that she was being targeted by Akpabio because she refused to yield to his sexual advances.
