ABUJA- COUNSEL to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan(PDP, Kogi Central), Mr Michael Numa, SAN, has written to the Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, KaKamorudeen Ogunlana, to recall the Senator to enable her to resume her legislative duties; failure to comply by Monday, contempt proceedings would be initiated against him.
Meanwhile, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain in Kano State, Abduljabbar Rufai, has urged the party to move beyond public statements and take concrete steps to ensure Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is allowed to perform her legislative duties.
Also, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has accused the Senate, led by Senator Godswill Akpabio, of dragging the country toward “legislative dictatorship and democratic anarchy” over its continued refusal to reinstate Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to her legislative duties.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer stated that her client’s right to resume her parliamentary duties after the expiration of her fixed-term suspension is rooted in the Constitution. He also advised that the CNA should reconsider its untenable stance and comply with the Constitution and extant judicial orders.
“Take notice that failure to comply by September 15, 2025, will leave us with no alternative but to initiate proceedings against you personally and in your official capacity. Such proceedings will include, but are not limited to, committal for contempt, disciplinary action for breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, liability for instigating breach of the peace with potential implications for national security, and Any other remedies available to our client under the law.”
PDP must defend Akpoti-Uduaghan in action -Rufai
Rufai, who spoke to Vanguard yesterday, said “Today, I call on the leadership of the PDP and, in particular, our National Assembly Caucus, to rise in defence of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan. The ongoing denial of her access to perform her constitutional duties as a duly elected federal lawmaker, despite the court ruling, is a clear injustice that must not be allowed to stand.”
NLC kicks
NLC President, Mr Joe Ajaero, described the Senate’s stance on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan as a “brazen persecution” that violates the constitution, undermines court orders, and disenfranchises the people of Kogi Central senatorial district.
He said: “The Senate’s pathetic recourse to a frivolous legal technicality, claiming the matter is sub judice after the expiration of a patently illegal six-month suspension, is the height of legislative bad faith.”
It is a cynical ploy that exposes a sinister agenda to silence dissent, crush opposition, and manipulate the judiciary as a tool of political persecution.
“This action, led by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, constitutes a gross abuse of power that disgraces the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly and spits on the collective will of the people of Kogi Central who elected Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“From our standpoint, this action is a direct attack on the Nigerian people. It is a declaration by a privileged political elite that they are not accountable to the citizens they purport to serve. By willfully disenfranchising an entire senatorial district, the Senate is effectively stealing the political representation for which the people pay taxes.
“We warn the leadership of the National Assembly and their enablers: the Nigerian people, united across ethnic and religious lines, will not stand idly by while you cannibalise our democracy. The labour movement, as the historic defender of justice and the common good, will mobilise its immense membership and moral authority to resist this slide into autocracy. An attack on one senator today is an attack on the sovereignty of every Nigerian voter tomorrow.”
VANGUARD.
