September 23, (THEWILL) — Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Tuesday resumed office at the National Assembly after serving a six-month suspension but vowed not to apologise to the Senate as reportedly demanded.
Natasha, who arrived at the National Assembly at about 1:10 p.m., was suspended in March for alleged misconduct and violation of Senate rules. The suspension had stripped her of salary, security details, and access to the National Assembly complex.
Her office, located in the Senate wing, was unsealed earlier in the day by the Sergeant-at-Arms and security operatives, following a resolution of the Senate leadership on Monday.
Although plenary resumption was shifted to October 7, sources said her office was opened ahead of time to allow her prepare to face her colleagues, where she was expected to tender an apology before the suspension would be formally lifted.
But addressing journalists in her office, Natasha insisted she owed no apology, accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of running the chamber like a dictatorship.
She said, “So I am actually worried as to what apology they expect from me. You can’t apologise for an injustice,” she said.
“The document that led to my illegal suspension, which Senator Neda Imasuen read, was written by the office of the Senate President. The signatures that endorsed it were not willful. It was a tender sheet that was merely attached. That means the entire suspension process was fraudulent.”
She added that her suspension was one illegality piled on another, stressing that Nigerians must resist such abuses of democratic institutions.
“If they are expecting me to apologise, I’m sorry, I don’t have those words. If that is the condition for reopening this office, then we have a long dance to make,” she declared.
Natasha accused Akpabio of treating her like “domestic staff” and warned against what she described as the drift toward authoritarianism in the legislature.
“It’s very unfortunate that after so many years of democracy, we have a National Assembly being run like a dictatorship. It’s totally unacceptable,” she said.
Despite her suspension, the senator maintained she continued to serve her constituents diligently.
“Not a single day went by without me carrying out my duties effectively,” she said.
““I sought opportunities in infrastructure, projects and jobs to support my people. I didn’t want them to suffer from the neglect created by this injustice.”
She thanked Nigerians, civil society groups, political parties and institutions who stood by her during her suspension, naming former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party (LP), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and several activists.
Natasha said public pressure was crucial in compelling the Senate leadership to reverse its stance.
“I believe public pressure played a major role and made the Senate President realise he could no longer go against the will of the people,” she said, while encouraging Nigerians not to lose faith in democracy.
“Our democracy is evolving, and as we move toward 2027, we must take meaningful actions. Patriotically, we have a country to save,” she added.
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