The Senate, on Thursday, suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months over alleged misconduct during plenary sessions.
The decision followed the Senate’s consideration and adoption of the report from the Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, which was presented by the committee’s Chairman, Senator Neda Imasuen.
During the session, the Senate also issued a warning to the Kogi Central lawmaker, urging her to refrain from violating the upper chamber’s standing rules.
The Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno, raised concerns about Akpoti-Uduaghan’s repeated refusal to stand whenever Senate President Godswill Akpabio led the procession to commence plenary. He stated that her actions directly violated Senate Standing Orders 55(1).
Monguno emphasized that while she often invoked Senate Order 10 to express her views, she could not selectively follow the rules while disregarding others.
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“Senator Natasha has been consistently and persistently in breach of this rule,” Monguno stated.
“He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.
“If you are seeking refuge always under Order 10, you cannot approbate and reprobate.
“We urge her to study the rules and ensure compliance rather than breaching them,” he added.
In a related development, Akpoti-Uduaghan submitted another petition to the Senate on Thursday, alleging sexual harassment by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. She stated that the petition was signed by one of her constituents.
Akpabio, after confirming that the matter was not currently in court, referred the petition to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions for review, with a directive to report back within four weeks.
This was not the first time Akpoti-Uduaghan had brought up the issue. On Wednesday, she submitted a similar petition, but the Senate rejected it on the grounds that it violated Order 40(4), which prohibits a senator from presenting a petition signed by themselves.
