The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly condemned what it described as a fresh attempt to block Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from returning to the Senate despite serving out her six-month suspension.
The controversy began after a letter from the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly informed the embattled senator that she could not resume legislative duties because her matter remained in court.
According to the clerk, “until the legal process is completed, she cannot resume for her legislative activities in the red chamber.”
However, the PDP has pushed back, accusing the Senate leadership of deliberately trying to silence Akpoti-Uduaghan and the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District whom she represents.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party said the move appeared to be “a calculated attempt being orchestrated by the Senator Godswill Akpabio-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate leadership to breach the right of representation of the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District and deny them a voice at the highest law-making body in the country.”
The PDP further described the letter as provocative, warning that it could undermine democratic values and the stability of the nation.
“It also comes as parts of the antics being deployed severally by the APC-controlled Senate and the Federal Government to suffocate the opposition which further confirms the creeping totalitarianism in our country under the APC government,” Ologunagba added.
Moreover, the party linked the development to what it called a wider pattern of attacks against women in politics.
Referring to past allegations of harassment against the Senate President, the statement noted,
“the reported action by the Clerk of the National Assembly against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan further brings to the fore the allegations of attacks on the right of women and sustained attempts to stifle their voices.”
The PDP demanded that the Senate President “come clean” on the allegations instead of “using the National Assembly establishment to further harass, intimidate and keep Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan away from the Senate.”
It further cautioned the Clerk of the National Assembly to “withdraw the said letter and play by the rules by being neutral as a bureaucrat and not allow himself to be politically entangled and used as a tool to undermine democracy.”
The opposition party also called on democracy institutions, advocacy groups, and the international community to take note of what it described as an attack on both democracy and women’s representation.
While rallying support for the embattled lawmaker, the PDP urged her to disregard the letter and prepare to resume duties once the Senate reconvenes.
“The extreme persecution of six months suspension unjustly imposed on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, contrary to the Rules of the Senate is more than enough,” the statement read.
