Tempers flare as Senator Natasha protests exclusion from N/Central Committee

By John Alechenu, Abuja

Tension flared in the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) after Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) staged a protest over being excluded from the committee’s activities.

Akpoti-Uduaghan protested over what she described as a persistent curtailment of her legislative rights and privileges in the 10th Senate.

Her protest, part of which was captured on video, was a sequel to her alleged omission from the membership of the Senate Committee on the NCDC, which held a meeting in the Senate on Monday.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly arrived at the committee meeting fully prepared to engage in proceedings, only to discover that she was not listed among those officially invited for the event.

When she noticed what she assumed was a possible oversight, she sought to consult the Committee Clerk to determine the true state of affairs.

Secretariat staff informed the Senator that the Clerk was in the office of the Committee Chairman, Titus Tartenger Zam; she proceeded to her colleague’s office to get an explanation.

Akpoti-Uduaghan went to the office in the company of some of her aides. Upon arrival, an altercation ensued between some of her staff and that of the committee chairman, as contained in a video recording of the incident.

Thereafter, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan said she got in touch with the committee chairman, who indicated his actions were based on instructions “from higher authorities”, without providing further details.

She described the incident as “part of a recurring pattern of marginalisation,” stressing that all senators are constitutionally equal in status, authority, and mandate.

The federal lawmaker queried the procedural and constitutional justification for excluding her from a committee whose work directly affects her region in the North Central geopolitical zone.

Speaking about alteration, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that “tensions escalated when aides attached to the Committee Chairman confronted her media team.”

She explained that “approximately six aides, including the chairman’s secretary, seized her cinematographer’s phone and engaged in verbal hostility, a development she described as unacceptable.”

The Senator reaffirmed her commitment to fairness and institutional integrity while insisting that her demands were rooted in respect for the electoral mandate entrusted to her by the people of Kogi Central.

She pledged to continue advocating for equitable treatment whenever legislative rights are undermined.

Senator Zam could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report.

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