By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, APC, Ogun West has lampooned the suspended Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, PDP, Kogi Central, saying that she should reflect on the fact that she is not bigger than the Senate.

Adeola, who noted that Akpoti-Uduaghan remains suspended until she fulfills the conditions offered for her suspension to be reconsidered or a court of competent jurisdiction decides otherwise, said that the institution of the Senate is bigger than all the present members and will outlive all of the members in due course.

In a statement he signed on Wednesday in Abuja, Adeola warned Akpoti-Uduaghan that with her behaviour and attitude, she must note that she cannot position herself as bigger than the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

According to Senator Adeola, even him as a three-time elected Senator with over 22 years as a parliamentarian at state and federal legislature cannot claim that he was bigger than the Senate, not to talk about someone with less than two years of experience in legislative activities.

Adeola explained that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for flagrant violation of the Senate Standing Orders and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Adeola said, “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.”

The lawmaker noted that Akpoti-Uduaghan did not exhaust the internal mechanisms available to her for any grievance, stressing that by filing a lawsuit against the Presiding Officer of the Senate and the Senate, her petition cannot be entertained in the Senate until the court decides on the suit she filed.

He said, “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.”

On Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio which allegedly occurred over a year ago, Adeola stated that such a claim without concrete evidence amounts to an attack on the institution of Nigeria’s parliament.

According to Adeola, the 10th Senate is gender-friendly through many of its passed bills and motions;




https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/youre-not-bigger-than-senate-adeola-tells-natasha-akpoti-uduaghan/