Senate dismisses Natasha Akpoti’s return attempt as ‘skit making’

Yemi Adaramodu, chairman of the senate committee on media and public affairs, says the upper chamber will not be dragged into what he described as “skit making” following the attempted return of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to plenary.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, was suspended for six months in May after accusing Godswill Akpabio, senate president, of sexual harassment.

On Tuesday, she attempted to resume legislative duties, citing a federal high court judgement in Abuja as the basis for her return.

She was, however, denied entry into the national assembly complex.

Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today later on Tuesday evening, Adaramodu dismissed the incident as “political theatrics”.

“The national assembly at large has a lot of roles to play. We are legislators and lawmakers, not spectators to be watching skit-making and content creation,” he said.

“Initially, I said all these episodes and saga is all about content creation. Now that the content has been created, it’s degenerating into a season film.

“We are not interested. We are lawmakers, not actors. We are not interested in all these kinds of things.”

He added that enforcing any court judgement is not the responsibility of a litigant.

“Even when any litigant goes to court and gets judgement, either the person feels that this is an order or not, the litigant does not enforce the order by himself or herself,” Adaramodu said.

“There are court bailiffs who will serve orders on those that should be served as prescribed by the court.”

The senate spokesperson insisted that the federal high court did not invalidate Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.

He said the judgement only ordered the senator to apologise, pay a N5 million fine, and retract a social media post — a ruling she has already appealed.

“It is baffling that someone would appeal a court order and still try to enforce it as if it were final,” Adaramodu said.

He pointed to section 60 of the Nigerian constitution and the senate rulebook, maintaining that the red chamber acted within its powers.

On the senator’s denial of access to the national assembly, Adaramodu said her approach was confrontational.

“If you are coming to the national assembly with a mob… carrying placards, chanting war songs, there’s no way the national assembly will allow you in,” he said.

“The only place where senators can access is the chamber. And we never allow anything that smacks like illegality to enter the chamber.”

Adaramodu added that until a competent court issues a “definitive” declaration that the suspension was unconstitutional, the senate’s action stands.

“There’s nothing subsisting between the senate president and our colleague Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. It’s not about the senate president, it’s about the senate as a whole,” he said.