Opposition senators visit Natasha, offer support

After the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan by the Senate, a group of opposition senators paid a solidarity visit to her residence on Friday evening, offering support and seeking a swift resolution to the situation.

The Kogi Central lawmaker was suspended after a heated exchange with Senate President Godswill Akpabio in February, which was later followed by allegations of sexual harassment against Akpabio. The Senate announced her suspension on Thursday.

In a Facebook post, Senator Henry Dickson explained the circumstances surrounding the suspension and detailed the opposition senators’ visit to Akpoti-Uduaghan and her husband.

He wrote: “The public may recall that, for the past 3 days, I was attending the 3-day workshop on the Tax Reform Bill which started Wednesday 5th of March and ended this evening today 7th of March. This was why I was not available to sit as a member of the committee of ethics, code of conduct, privileges and public petitions in respect of the issues concerning our colleague Distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan’s suspension, haven been assured by the Committee Chairman that the hearing would be on Wednesday the 11th of March for which notices had already been issued, I was not notified of the emergency seating that same day.

“As a result of the strong views I had already canvassed on the tax reform bills, my colleagues and I were working on the bills yesterday and as such I was unable to join the plenary seating which considered the report of the ethics committee that deliberated and approved the suspension.”

Dickson further noted that after concluding the retreat, he led a delegation of opposition senators to visit Akpoti-Uduaghan.

“This evening after concluding the 3-day retreat on the bills, I led a delegation of some senators of opposition parties on a visit to our colleague Senator Natasha and met with her and her husband at their home,” he said.

“Senators as humans, have their low and high moments and it is a tradition for Senators to support each other during these moments.

“We offered words of encouragement, prayers and advice on a quick resolution of the issues surrounding her suspension. Having heard more from her and her husband for the first time, I will discuss with other colleagues on how to intervene and engage with the leadership of the senate to resolve the issues as soon as possible.”