Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator from Kogi Central Senatorial District, has called for her to be reinstated to the Senate right away.
The Guardian says that she offered the Clerk of the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, four days to help her get back to the Senate or face contempt proceedings and disciplinary action.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer Michael Jonathan Numa (SAN), turned down the Clerk’s letter from September 4, which said that her suspension would stay in place until the Court of Appeal made a decision on the subject.
The senator said that if the Clerk didn’t do what she asked by Monday, September 15, 2025, she would have to take action against him both personally and in his official capacity.
Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba social and cultural group, criticized the Senate yesterday for not letting Akpoti-Uduaghan return to her legislative duties after her six-month suspension was over. Afenifere said that the ruling sends a dangerous political message in the country.
Womanifesto, a group of more than 300 women’s rights organizations, has also spoken out against Akpoti-Uduaghan’s protracted absence from the Senate. They say the action is unlawful and a deliberate attack on women’s political involvement.
Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, the convener of Womanifesto, said in a signed statement yesterday that the Senate leadership and the National Assembly management were blatantly breaking a court order that was still in effect.
The statement made it clear that this development is an attack on Nigeria’s democratic fundamentals. So, the groups asked for her to be reinstated right away and without conditions, for the Senate to stop what they called “spurious claims and delay tactics,” and for those who abused their legislative power to be held accountable.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on the other hand, has said that the labour movement, which has always fought for justice, will come together to stop Akpoti-Uduaghan from being barred from carrying out her constitutional duties.
It claimed that the Senate’s choice was not only a mistake, but also an attack on democracy itself.
In a statement yesterday, NLC President Joe Ajaero said that the Congress strongly criticizes the Senate’s decision to keep Natasha from serving, saying that suspending her stops her from doing her constitutional duties and denies her people proper representation.
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