The Popular Democratic Party (PDP) has criticized the decision of the National Assembly to prevent the suspended senator from Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan resumes duties after the expiration of its six-month suspension, citing a pending case in the Court of Appeals.
The party, which condemned the decision, described the suspension as “unfair” in the first instance, and added that denying its resumption was equivalent to an additional violation of the rights of its components in the Kogi central senatorial district to be represented in the Senate.
“This action reported by the Secretary of the National Assembly hits an calculated attempt orchestrated by Senator Akpabio-Hall Progressives Congress (APC) Senate leadership to reduce the right of representation of the people of the Kogi central senatorial district and deny them a voice in the highest body of the country’s law.
“The attempt to use the establishment of the National Assembly against an elected senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in a serious violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (amended) and the permanent rules of the Senate, is highly provocative and constitutes a clear and present danger for democracy and the general stability of our country.
“It is also part of the pranks repeatedly deployed by the Senate controlled by APC and the Federal Government to suffocate the opposition, confirming even more amazing totalitarianism in our country under the APC government,” said the National Secretary of Advertising of the PDP, Honorable Debobunagba, in a statement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, a member of the PDP, was suspended by the Senate on March 6, 2025 for alleged misconduct and for breaking its rules on the assignment of seats.
During the suspension, he made accusations of sexual harassment against the president of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, a request dismissed by the Senate Ethics Committee, who investigated his claims.
In a letter dated August 28, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan informed the secretary to the National Assembly that his suspension would expire on September 4, 2025, and that he intended to resume his homework immediately in the legislative building.
However, the interim secretary, Mr. Yahaya Danzaria, responded to the legislator, noting that although he affirmed that his resumption date was on September 4, the matter remained Sub Judice.
“I am also directly that he informs him that his suspension had an effect as of Thursday, March 6, 2025, and to call his attention to the fact that the issue of his suspension is currently before the Court of Appeals.
“The matter, therefore, remains Sub Judice, and until the judicial process is concluded, and the Senate formally reviews the suspension in the light of the court pronouncement, this office cannot take administrative measures to facilitate its resumption,” the employee’s letter, dated on September 4, in part read.
According to management, Akpoti-Uduaghan would be duly notified when it would be allowed to resume in the Senate.
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But on Tuesday, the PDP rejected the position, insisting that the action “is at the end of the accusations of attacks against women’s rights and sustained attempts to quell their voices, as presented in the various accusations of harassment against women level against the current president of the Senate, Senator Akpabio, over the years.”
While opposing the position of the National Assembly, the party also declared:
“The PDP demands that the president of the Senate be clarified in the various accusations instead of trying to use the establishment of the National Assembly to harass, intimidate and keep Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan away from the Senate.
“The extreme persecution of a six-month suspension unjustly imposed on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, unlike the rules of the Senate, is more than enough, and the PDP meets the town of Kogi Central and all well-commissioned Nigerians to condemn this unsteady renewed attack against Senator Akpoti-Uuduaghan.
“Our party strongly warns the Secretary of the National Assembly to withdraw said letter and play by the rules when remaining neutral as a bureaucrat, instead of being allowed to be politically tangled and used as a tool to undermine democracy and the rule of law in the National Assembly and Nigeria.
“The PDP asks the international community, democratic institutions, rights defense groups and other democracy development partners to increase the condemnation of this renewed attack against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“By accusing Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to ignore the letter reported by the Secretary of the National Assembly and prepare to resume in the Senate, the PDP demands that the leadership of the Senate make sure that it will be allowed to resume their duties and perform its role as elected senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without Dindrance.”
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