Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio has removed suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, (PDP, Kogi Central) as Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs.
With this development, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan who was removed as Chairman, Local Content in February and taken to chair the Diaspora and NGOs Committee will resume without heading any Committee.
Following her earlier removal as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, was appointed chair of the Diaspora and NGOs Committee on February 4, 2025.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio who announced the decision during plenary with no official reason given for the change, said, “The new chairman is Distinguished Senator Aniekan Bassey, and it will take effect from today,” he said.
While hinting at a broader reshuffling of committee positions, Akpabio said a review of Vice chairmanships would be undertaken in the coming week to ensure a more equitable distribution.
He said, “We will make some changes to our vice chairmanship positions next week. Some of the senators have two vice chairmanship positions. Every senator should either be a chairman or a vice chairman so we balance the situation."
Prior to this decision yesterday, the Senate on Tuesday this week, began moves for legislative amendment process of its in-house rules.
This time, strong indications emerged that this time, the Senate was going for tougher disciplinary measures against erring Senators.
This was sequel to the first reading of a bill by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Senator Shehu Lawan Kaka, APC, Borno Central,
It was titled, "Legislative Houses (Powers & Privileges) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 708) "
Senate's move in this direction , came five days after Justice Binta Nyako of Federal High Court Abuja, queried the Legislative Houses ( Powers and Privileges ) Act used to suspend Senator Natasha Akpoti - Uduaghan for six months which according to her, was not specified in the Act.
The new step by the Upper Chamber will be a way of addressing the lacuna.
The bill titled : "Re-tightening Disciplinary Measures against Erring Members and other related matters", as explained by Senator Kaka in a telephone interview with journalists, aimed at ensuring the required specifications on punitive measures to be taken against any erring members .
"Amendments being sought on some provisions of the Legislative Houses ( Powers and Privileges ) Act , is to fine tune the already existing laws by injecting the required specifics into disciplinary provisions in terms of duration ", he said .
Being an urgently needed legislation , it may be slated for second reading in plenary on Wednesday .
Recall that Justice Binta in her ruling on Friday last week on Senator Natasha's suspension by the Senate, said the six months slammed on her was excessive and that the House rule upon which the disciplinary action was based , does not specify duration .
She consequently urged the Senate to recall her from the suspension.
Also recall that on March 6th, 2025, the Senate suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months amid the sexual harassment allegation she made against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The suspension, came after a recommendation from the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions as presented by the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Neda Imasuen, APC, Edo South.
As part of the suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s salary and security details were withdrawn, and she was barred from accessing the National Assembly premises.
Her office was also made to be locked, and her legislative aides not to receive their salaries during this period. The Senate further ruled out reconsidering her suspension until the six-month term ends or she submits a formal apology.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension followed a heated confrontation in the Senate, where she protested the reassignment of her seat by Akpabio. She arrived at a plenary session to find her nameplate removed and her seat reassigned, which she argued was an attempt to silence her.
Her suspension was put to a vote after she was denied the opportunity to speak, with the majority siding with the Ethics Committee’s report.
Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro supported the committee’s recommendation, stating that her actions warranted disciplinary action. He likened the move to “correcting a child,” referencing Nigerian cultural norms.
To appeal the suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan must submit a written apology to the Senate for allegedly violating its rules.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who has been on suspension since in March is yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In an interview on Tuesday, she said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
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