The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Adeola (APC, Ogun West), responded to the ongoing controversy surrounding Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi East), asserting that she cannot place herself above the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In a statement he personally signed, Adeola emphasized that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension followed her flagrant violation of both the Senate Standing Orders and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He stressed, “As a member of the 10th Senate with experience as a member of the 8th and 9th Senate, I make bold to say that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was in gross violation of the Senate Standing Orders and the Senate did the appropriate thing in her suspension. We are all Senators-Elect until sworn in with the Constitution and the Standing Orders. It is only then that we become Senators under oath to abide by the Constitution and the Standing Orders.”
Adeola also criticized Akpoti-Uduaghan for bypassing internal Senate mechanisms to address grievances, highlighting that by filing a lawsuit against the Senate’s leadership, her petition cannot be addressed by the Senate until the matter is resolved in court. “The Senate as an institution derives its power from the Constitution to make rules for its orderly conduct. And the Legislative House (Powers and Privilege) Act 2018 grants the Senate rights to conduct its affairs as an arm of government free from judicial encumbrances. The outcome of its decisions can be challenged but the Senate cannot be stopped from functioning as an arm of government,” Adeola added.
On Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, which reportedly occurred over a year ago, Adeola dismissed the claims, noting that allegations without concrete evidence serve as attacks on the institution of Nigeria’s parliament. He further underscored the Senate’s commitment to gender equality, stating that the 10th Senate is gender-friendly and has passed various bills and motions supporting women’s rights. “The female senators in the Senate have not been suppressed, silenced, or oppressed, as all honour and courtesies due any senator are accorded to them within and outside the Red Chamber,” Adeola remarked.
He also called on the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) not to be swayed into diminishing the status of the Nigerian parliament. “I want to call on the International Parliamentary Union, IPU, not to be coaxed to do anything that will diminish the status of the parliament as the bastion of democracy. IPU should not succumb to being used as an instrument of blackmail against a national institution of parliament,” Adeola stated.
Furthermore, Senator Adeola commended Hon. Khafilat Oghara, the House of Representatives Committee Chairperson on Women Affairs and Nigeria’s official representative at the IPU, for her balanced stance on the issue. He expressed satisfaction that the IPU President did not immediately accept Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations without due consideration.
Adeola concluded by reaffirming that Akpoti-Uduaghan remains suspended until she either meets the conditions set for her suspension to be reconsidered or a court of competent jurisdiction rules otherwise. He asserted that the Senate as an institution is larger than any individual member and will outlive all its current members in due course.
