BREAKING: Senator Natasha Returns to Senate After Six-Month Suspension, Labels Senate President Akpabio a ‘Dictator’

By Ademola Adekusibe
September 24, 2025

Abuja, Nigeria — Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central has resumed legislative duties after six months of suspension, openly condemning Senate President Godswill Akpabio, whom she accused of running the Senate like a dictatorship.

Her return followed the unsealing of her office at the National Assembly Complex on Tuesday, September 23, under the directive of Senate leadership. The office had been locked since March when she was suspended.

Speaking to journalists shortly after resuming, Akpoti-Uduaghan rejected demands that she tender an apology to the Senate leadership as a condition for her reinstatement, describing the suspension as illegal and her treatment as unfair.

“No one is more Nigerian than us. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am. He treated me as if I were his servant or a domestic staff in his house. Such dictatorship should not be tolerated in a democratic institution,” she said.

During her absence, Akpoti-Uduaghan was denied access to her office and deprived of official entitlements, including salary and security. She accused Akpabio of deliberately frustrating her work as a legislator and attempting to silence her voice.

Her suspension had sparked controversy earlier in the year, with civil society organisations and some lawmakers describing it as high-handed. The senator maintained that she did not breach any parliamentary rules and that her punishment was politically motivated.

While some senators had called for conditions to be attached to her return, including a formal apology, others pressed for her immediate reinstatement without preconditions, deepening divisions within the Red Chamber.

The Kogi lawmaker’s fiery remarks upon resumption are expected to reignite tensions within the Senate as debates over leadership style and internal democracy continue.