Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has described her suspension from the Red Chambers as “an injustice that will not be sustained”.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker was suspended for six months on Thursday after the Senate disciplinary committee found her guilty of breaching its rules in the wake of her sexual harassment allegations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
But a furious Senator Natasha faulted her suspension.
“This injustice would not stand,” the Kogi Central Senator said, vowing to continue the “pursuit for justice”.
Her suspension followed a recommendation by the Senate disciplinary committee which submitted its report to the lawmakers during plenary session on Thursday.
The committee probed allegations of sexual abuse and abuse of office against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
According to the committee, the 45-year-old lawyer had breached the Senate’s rules and thus should be suspended for six months.
Despite calls by some lawmakers for Natasha’s suspension to be reduced to six months, the overwhelming majority of the Senate voted for otherwise.
Senator Akpabio who presided over plenary, however, read the resolutions of the lawmakers which said, the Senate would “consider lifting this suspension or reducing the tenure of the suspension” if Natasha later submits a “written apology to the Senate before her reconsideration by the Nigerian Senate”.
The recommendations from the committee also included the stoppage of her salaries for the period and that of her aides. But that was ruled out following an appeal by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
“The aides of Natasha are not Natasha,” Senator Kalu said while calling for an amendment to the sanctions. “It would be wrong for this Senate to deprive these aides of their allowances.”
Natasha’s ordeal began on February 20th, 2025 when she had a dispute with Senator Akpabio after her seat was changed. The Kogi Central representative faulted the move, leading to a heated exchange on the floor of the upper lawmaking body.
But the dispute graduated to claims of sexual harassment levelled against Akpabio, a former governor of oil-rich Akwa Ibom – an accusation the latter has denied.
She submitted a petition to the Senate on Thursday but that was dismissed before her eventual suspension the following day.
