The legislative arm of government with the help of the Nigerian Police Force swiftly and promptly denied the senator representing the Kogi central senatorial district in the person Sen. Natasha Hadiza Akpoti.
Senator Natasha arrived the premises at 11:45 am with her complete entourage and managed to pass the first gate but was not allowed to drive through the second gate and after waiting for a long period of time, came down and walked to the main entrance of the national assembly chamber where she was met by men of both police and national assembly security personnel, when she asked why she was not given entry, she was met with complete silence.
Human right activist, Aisha Yesufu who followed the senator demanded that the senator be given entry and went on to say that ‘it was unlawful for a duly elected and sitting senator be denied her constitutional right because some peoples egos were bruised’
Senator Natasha also clarified some things in regards to the judgement delivered by Justice Binta Nyako which said that “the suspension was excessive and deprived the lawmaker’s constituents of their right to representation. The judge stated that while the Senate has the authority to discipline its members, such disciplinary actions must not strip citizens of representation in the National Assembly. She noted that since the Senate is constitutionally required to sit for only 181 days in a legislative year, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s 180-day suspension amounted to denying the people of Kogi Central effective participation in national governance”. She said that the statement she made on social media was in no way a slight on the court as she did not do it to disrespect the authority of the court and the judge.
The senator stated that this is not the end of this matter as she walked back to her car.