By Prosper Mene
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduagha has reclaimed her seat in Nigeria’s Senate, six months after her controversial suspension.
The dramatic unsealing of her office at the National Assembly on Tuesday marked the end of a protracted political battle, drawing effusive praise from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who declared that the “voice of reason has prevailed over tyranny.”Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator representing Kogi Central, was suspended on March 6, 2025, for alleged breaches of Senate standing rules, including conduct deemed disruptive during plenary sessions.
The six-month debarment barred her from legislative duties and sealed her office in Suite 2.05 of the Senate wing, depriving her constituents of representation and sparking widespread accusations of political persecution.
The tide turned on July 4, when a Federal High Court ruled the suspension “excessive and unconstitutional,” a decision that fueled ongoing legal challenges and public outcry.
Despite the court’s intervention, the National Assembly initially resisted her resumption on September 9, citing pending litigation. However, mounting pressure from civil society, opposition figures, and legal precedents forced the hand of Senate leadership under President Godswill Akpabio.
On Tuesday, Deputy Director of the Sergeant-at-Arms, Mr. Alabi Adedeji, formally unsealed the office in a brief ceremony, followed by immediate fumigation and cleaning to prepare for Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return. Supporters erupted in jubilation outside the National Assembly, chanting songs of solidarity, though the festive mood was briefly marred by reports of police teargassing a crowd of her backers.
Stepping into her office for the first time since March, the senator wasted no time in asserting her unyielding stance. “I have no apology to tender to anybody,” Akpoti-Uduaghan told reporters, dismissing rumors of a potential motion by Minority Leader Senator Abba Moro demanding contrition upon the Senate’s full resumption on October 7.
She lambasted the suspension as a “deprivation” orchestrated by Senate leadership and vowed to continue her advocacy for Kogi Central’s interests.
The former vice president linked Akpoti-Uduaghan’s ordeal to a pattern of institutional weaponization under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, citing the recent suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and assembly members, as well as the lifted emergency rule in Rivers. “These are not isolated acts,” Atiku warned, accusing the government of subverting democracy to silence opposition voices.
Akpoti-Uduaghan echoed this gratitude in her post-resumption address, thanking Atiku, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili, the Nigerian Bar Association, Labour Congress, and parties like the Labour Party (LP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC). “Their voices created the pressure that made the Senate President realize he just can’t,” she said, crediting the solidarity for her vindication.
As the Senate prepares for plenary resumption next month, all eyes remain on Kogi Central’s firebrand senator. Her return not only restores legislative balance but reignites debates on accountability, free speech, and the fragility of democratic institutions in Africa’s most populous nation.
