Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan vowed on Tuesday to meet with her legal team to initiate steps at the appellate court following her denial of access to the National Assembly, despite a valid court order directing her reinstatement.
The senator, who was suspended for six months by the Senate earlier this year, had vowed to resume legislative duties after a ruling by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court quashed her suspension. But upon arrival at the National Assembly complex, she was barred by security personnel.
Speaking to journalists after the incident, Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed outrage at what she described as contempt of court by the Senate under President Godswill Akpabio.
“Akpabio cannot be greater than the Nigerian Constitution. I want Nigerians to know that the Office of the Senate President doesn’t give me legitimacy as a senator. The fact that he has done an appeal does not invalidate the decision of Justice Binta Nyako, and that does not stop me from being a senator. I got my legitimacy as a senator from the people of Kogi who voted me into office as senator,” she said.
She continued, “That I’ve been denied entrance to the National Assembly is a statement being made. It’s on record that the National Assembly under Akpabio has decided to be in contempt of a court decision, and it’s quite ironic that they are lawmakers. That poses the question: how far is our democracy in this day and age?”
Akpoti-Uduaghan also questioned the basis of her initial suspension, stating, “Even the suspension ab initio was fraudulent—the document was faulty.”
On her next line of action, she said, “Going forward, I will have a meeting with my legal team so they proceed to the appellate court to seek interpretation into what just happened. I’m a law-abiding citizen.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Senate leadership had not issued any statement on the court ruling or Tuesday’s development.
VANGUARD
