Court-Declared Senators Ignorant Of Senate Rules - Akpabio Takes Jab At Natasha
Senate
President Godswill Akpabio has stated that lawmakers who reclaimed
their electoral mandate through the courts contribute to challenges in
the upper legislative chamber, News360 Nigeria reports.
Akpabio
made this remark on Tuesday while announcing that Senator Natasha
Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, would face disciplinary
action following her recent outburst over seat reallocation.
On
February 20, Akpoti-Uduaghan disrupted plenary by rejecting her
assigned seat, repeatedly raising a point of order despite being
overruled by Akpabio. Addressing the matter during plenary on February
25, Akpabio attributed the conflict to a lack of understanding of Senate
rules and directed the National Assembly management to conduct regular
orientation for senators.
“I think part of the problem is
when people come from court… court-declared senators; they missed the
orientation,” Akpabio said.
“The management of the National
Assembly is hereby ordered to organise periodic orientation,
particularly for senators who are midstreamers, who came midstream and
did not start when their colleagues started.
“I remember that
this particular senator (Natasha), on the day she was sworn in, raised
her hand to speak. I was scared, but I had to recognise her, because I
was saying we just gave her the rule book.
“Part of what we
give to you when you are sworn in is the standing order of the Senate. I
asked if she opened the rule book to know what to say, but she made a
contribution on that day. I think two days later she brought a motion.
“There is nothing wrong in being vibrant, but there is a lot wrong when you don’t know anything about the procedure,” he added.
Defamation Suit
In response, Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a N100 billion defamation lawsuit against Akpabio.
The
suit, filed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, accuses
Akpabio and his legislative aide, Mfon Patrick, of making defamatory
statements against her. The Kogi lawmaker is demanding that the
statements be retracted and an apology published in a national
newspaper.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had initially contested the
February 2023 senatorial election results after the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner. She challenged the outcome,
citing irregularities.
The National Assembly Election Petitions
Tribunal ruled in her favor, nullifying Sadiku-Ohere’s victory. The
Court of Appeal later upheld the decision, officially declaring
Akpoti-Uduaghan as the duly elected senator for Kogi Central.
She was sworn into office in November 2023.
https://news360ng.com/court-declared-senators-ignorant-of-senate-rules-akpabio-takes-jab-at-natasha-akpoti/
Comments
Post a Comment