After Senate President Godswill Akpabio was accused of sexual harassment, Natasha was suspended.
For breaking the Red Chambers regulations, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghen has been suspended by the Senate for a period of six months.
She accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, a charge he has rejected, and this led to her suspension.
As Senate President Godswill Akpabio read out the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct’s recommendations after looking into Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims, he said, “That the Senate do suspend Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months for her total violation of the Senate Standing Rules (2023 as amended for bringing the presiding officer and the entire Nigerian Senate to public opprobrium.”
The Senate upheld the original ruling by a majority vote, despite attempts by certain senators to shorten the suspension time to three months.
But the parliamentarians decided that if she submitted a written apology, the suspension might be lifted or lowered.
“Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan must submit a written apology to the Senate prior to her reconsideration by the Nigerian Senate in order for the Senate to consider lifting this suspension or reducing the tenure of the suspension,” Akpabio stated at the Red Chambers on Thursday.
However, it consented to pay her aides’ salary, in contrast to
While advocating for a change to the penalties, Senator Orji Kalu asserted that “Natasha’s aides are not Natasha.” “That this Senate would deny these aides their allowances would be wrong.”
The Sergeant-At-Arms led the Kogi Central lawmaker out of the chambers after she was suspended, but not before she said, “This injustice would not be sustained.”
Following an investigation, the committee recommended that she be suspended after finding her guilty of violating Senate rules.
The suspension of the PDP legislator follows weeks of accusations and rebuttals from the Senate, Akpabio, and the lawmaker herself.
On February 20, 2025, a disagreement with Senator Akpabio about seating arrangements sparked this debate. The Senate president was then accused of sexual harassment and suspected misuse of power by Senator Natasha.
On Wednesday, she filed a petition on the upper house of parliament. However, her allegations were rejected by the Senate Committee on Public Conduct, Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, which is chaired by Neda Imaseun (Edo South). Due to what it characterized as a violation of due process and legal restrictions, it deemed her petition “dead on arrival.”
The committee claims that the petition is “invalid” since the senator personally signed it rather than having someone else support it.
Hours later, Senator Natasha resubmitted her petition. But that same day, the Red Chambers approved the Imasuen-led committee’s recommendation that she be suspended for breaking the Senate rule.
In addition to her six-month suspension, it suggested that the Kogi Central lawmaker’s office be locked, that she be prohibited from attending the National Assembly while on suspension, and that her and her legislative assistants’ salaries be suspended.
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