Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu has told Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan that National Assembly is a place for serious business, not for theatrics following her confrontation with Senate President, Godswill Akpabio over the reassignment of her seat.
The dispute arose on Thursday, after Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, refused to accept her new seat allocation. Citing Order 10 of the Senate standing rules, she insisted on protecting her privileges.
The reshuffle followed the defection of some opposition members to the ruling party, leading to changes in seating arrangements. However, Akpoti-Uduaghan resisted the move, accusing the Senate leadership of attempting to suppress her voice.
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The altercation stemmed from a report by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno, who informed the Senate that Senator Natasha had refused to relocate to a new seat assigned to her. Monguno added that the reassignment was intended to close gaps left by two defecting opposition senators who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from a minority party
Citing Order 24, Monguno highlighted his authority as Chief Whip and referenced Order 6, which grants the Senate President the power to reassign senators’ seats at any time.
He further noted that senators can only speak from their designated seats, reinforcing Akpabio’s authority to deny recognition to anyone speaking from an unassigned seat.
However, Senator Natasha stood from her original seat and attempted to invoke Order 10, arguing that her privileges had been violated. Akpabio then ruled her out of order, asserting that she could not be recognized while speaking from an unauthorized seat.
“I don’t care if I am silenced. I am not afraid of you. You have denied me my privilege,” she shouted at the Senate president during the heated exchange.
As tensions escalated, Akpabio directed the sergeant-at-arms to remove Akpoti-Uduaghan from the chamber, but several lawmakers intervened to de-escalate the situation.
Reacting to the incident during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Adaramodu dismissed the Senator’s claims of being marginalized and insisted that the legislature was a place for serious work, not theatrics.
“What we are saying is that the national assembly is not for content creation or entertainment. The National Assembly is for serious business,” he said.
He argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan had not been sidelined, highlighting her multiple committee appointments despite being a first-time Senator.
“If she is talking about being bullied or sidelined, as a first-timer, she even has three committees that she was appointed as chairperson. You are entitled to chair only one committee but she is in charge of foreign affairs, and NGOs now.”
Adaramodu stated that the Senate would not revisit the altercation, as Senator Isah Jubril, also from Kogi, had already apologised on Akpoti-Uduaghan’s behalf.
“The Senate as a whole has already accepted that tendered apology, so we are not going to revisit that,” he added.
