Senate Unseals Senator Natasha's Office, Grants Her Access to National Assembly Premises

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

Strong indications have emerged that the political tusle between the embattled Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial district, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, may be coming to an end as the Senate has unsealed her office.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that from a viral video released on X on Tuesday, the Sergeant at Arms of the National Assembly, along with combined personnel of security operatives, were in the video, seen unsealing her number 205 office of the Senate wing.

Given this development, the National Assembly has now granted the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan access to her office and the National Assembly premises.

With her office now unsealed, Akpoti-Uduaghan can access the National Assembly premises, potentially paving the way for her to resume her legislative duties.

National Assembly sources affirmed that the decision to unseal her office was reached during a leadership meeting of the Senate, where a motion will be moved and barring any changes, the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Abba Moro, PDP, Benue South, will move the motion for her to apologise, then seconded, and it will be taken.

It would be recalled that the embattled then Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, Akpoti-Uduaghan, was in March slammed with a six-month suspension by the Senate, which also barred her from participating in all activities of the 10th Senate over her alleged misconduct when she protested against the reassignment of her seat by Akpabio on February 20, 2025.

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension ended in September 2025, but she has been unable to resume her duties due to ongoing legal issues and continued opposition from the Senate leadership. Perhaps because of the extended recess, we will see how it plays out as the Senate resumes plenary sessions.

Following her suspension, she took her case to the courts to vacate the suspension, as she was not successful, and the Senate, on its part, spoke through its relevant officers, insisting that the matter had nothing to do with sexual allegations, but everything to do with Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s contravention of the Senate Standing Orders as amended.

Binta Nyako, Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in July, described the six-month suspension as excessive and unconstitutional, and thereafter ordered the Senate to recall the embattled Senator, citing that suspending a Senator for such a long period would expose constituents to non-representation during that time.

Thereafter, she attempted to return to the Senate but was denied access, and the Senate stood its ground, insisting that she serve her full term.

Earlier, the Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, Kamorudeen Ogunlana, wrote her through the Acting Clerk to NASS, Yahaya Danzaria, who notified her that her six-month suspension subsists until the Court of Appeal delivers judgment in the suit she instituted against the Senate.

On September 11, Counsel to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Michael Jonathan Numa, SAN, wrote to the Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, Kamorudeen Ogunlana, to recall the Senator so that she could resume her legislative duties.

According to Numa in the letter, the CNA should note that failure to comply by Monday, 15th September 2025, will leave them with no alternative but to initiate proceedings against you personally and in your official capacity. Such proceedings will include, but are not limited to, committal for contempt, disciplinary action for breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, liability for instigating a breach of the peace with potential implications for national security, and any other remedies available to our client under the law.

Responding to the letter from her lawyer, the CNA, Ogunlana, urged the public to remain patient and allow the appropriate institutions, including the Senate and the courts, to discharge their constitutional responsibilities in respect of the resumption of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

According to him, he does not possess the authority to review, reverse or interpret Senate decisions against the backdrop that his office serves strictly as an administrative arm, providing support to the Senate in accordance with their resolutions, Standing Orders and the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

In a statement signed by the Director, Information for the Clerk to the National Assembly, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, he said that Ogunlana is therefore not in a position to facilitate her resumption at this time, just as he noted that it must be emphasized that the determination of whether Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan can resume her legislative duties as of right without any further or fresh resolution of the Senate following the expiration of her six months suspension lies solely with the Senate and not with the office of the CNA.