A mild drama over seat reallocation briefly disrupted Senate proceedings on Thursday as the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, engaged the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, in a shouting match.
At a point, Akpabio, who almost ran out of patience, ordered the sergeant-at-arms personnel to walk Akpoti-Uduaghan out of the chambers.
Amidst the directive to walk her out, Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan kept protesting and shouting that Akpabio was denying her and the people she represents – the right to be served in the Senate of Nigeria.
The drama escalated soon after the Chief Whip, Sen. Mohammed Monguno, came under relevant rules of the Senate to draw the attention of Akpabio to a breach of rule by Akpoti-Uduaghan, who had refused to assume a new seat assigned to her.
The reallocation of Natasha’s seat was due to the recent defection of Sen. Ned Nwoko from the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby creating a vacancy in the row of seats.
The Senate constantly reallocates or changes seat arrangements as events unfold or as directed by the President of the Senate in line with the rules.
Speaking on the consequences of rejecting her new seat, the chief whip went on, “She is to be aware that the Senate President may not recognise her to speak in this chamber from any seat other than the seat allocated to her by the Senate in line with our rules.”
But, Akpoti-Uduaghan protested the decision to relocate her seat, saying that she was being victimised and denied the right to represent the people of Kogi-Central, a development which forced Akpabio to order that she should be walked out of the chambers.
“I don’t care if I am silenced. I am not afraid of you. You have denied me my privilege,” she shouted at the Senate President.
Her two colleagues from Kogi State intervened, condemning her behaviour and apologising on her behalf.
The Chairman of the Kogi Senate Caucus, Sen. Isa Jibrin, apologised to Akpabio.
“The recent movement of the senators is attributable to the defection of Sen Ned Nwoko.
“The reaction of Natasha is uncalled for, and I want to sincerely apologise to the Senate President and to the entire Senate on behalf of Sen. Natasha”, he said.
Another Kogi senator, Karimi Sunday, also advised Akpoti-Uduaghan to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, in his response, Akpabio doused the tension and appealed to senators not to escalate the issue further.
It is recalled that in July 2024, Akpabio had his first brush with Natasha when the latter was interrupting proceedings.
Akpabio had reacted, “Senator Natasha, you cannot speak without being asked or invited to speak in the Senate. This is not a nightclub.”
Akpabio’s remarks generated controversies and immediately went viral on social media because they were perceived to be derogatory.
A week following the encounter, Akpabio had to apologise to the female lawmaker.
He stated, “I will not intentionally denigrate any woman and I always pray that God will uplift women. Distinguished Senator Natasha, I want to apologise to you.”
