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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central on Tuesday resumed legislative duties at the National Assembly, shortly after her office was officially unsealed by the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Her office, Suite 2.05 of the Senate Wing, had been locked since March 6, 2025, following her suspension by Senate leadership. The seal was removed by Deputy Director of the Sergeant-at-Arms, Alabi Adedeji, who declared in a short video:
“I, Alabi Adedeji, Deputy Director, Sergeant-at-Arms, hereby unseal the office. The office is hereby unsealed. Thank you.”
Speaking after reclaiming her office, Senator Natasha, who has been at loggerheads with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said she remained resolute and had no regrets.
“In retrospect, it is actually amazing how much we have had to pay in the past six months, from the unjust suspension to the recall. But we survived the recall, blackmail, and that crazy lady on Facebook.
It is amazing what we had to pass through, and I give God Almighty the glory and my deepest appreciation to the people of Kogi Central and Nigerians at large. To my husband, I love you dearly. I pray all men support their wives in the same manner you have supported me.”
The senator accused Akpabio of running the Senate with a heavy hand.
“In everything, sometimes it is good to push the institution to the test. We can’t cower down in the face of injustice. No one is more Nigerian than us. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am. He is not the governor of this place, yet he treated me as if I were a servant or domestic staff in his house.
It is so unfortunate that we will have a National Assembly being run by such a dictator. It is totally unacceptable.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months in March over alleged misconduct after protesting the reassignment of her seat on February 20. Though her suspension formally ended in September, she was barred from resuming amid a protracted legal battle with Senate leadership.
On July 4, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled that her suspension was excessive and unconstitutional. Despite the ruling, the Senate initially ignored her request to return.
With her office now reopened, questions remain as to whether she will regain full privileges and be allowed to sit with colleagues when plenary resumes on October 7.