Osamagbe Imadiyi
Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims of an impending arrest upon her return from the Inter-Parliamentary Union event in New York have been rejected by the Nigerian Senate. Senate Spokesman Adeyemi Adaramodu said in a press release on Monday that there is no reason why the Senate and Senate President Godswill Akpabio should speak with Akpoti-Uduaghan about the matter. “She is trying to find her lost content creation needle in a haystack,” Adaramodu retorted, rejecting allegations made by the senator. The Nigerian Senate and the Senate President no longer have any justification for arguing with her.
Senate President Akpabio had dispatched staff to “evacuate” her from the UN premises, according to Akpoti-Uduaghan, who had claimed that there were plans to arrest her when she arrived in Abuja. She further claimed that, in spite of her suspension, her involvement in the IPU event was lawful. Adaramodu responded by implying that Akpoti-Uduaghan was experiencing distress due to her own behavior at the IPU. Adaramodu replied that Akpoti-Uduaghan was upset about what she had done at the IPU.
Speaking to an online newspaper on Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan explained why she went to the UN Inter-Parliamentary Union in New York even though she did not have the required official approval. In the middle of her interview, the senator claimed that she was aware that she would be arrested as soon as she arrived in Abuja. She said, “I know that plans are in motion to have me arrested as soon as I get to Abuja. I was evacuated from the United Nations premises immediately following my speech by three staff members sent by Senate President Akpabio, who were led by the Chargè D’Affairs of the Nigerian embassy in New York. International lawmakers and security personnel came to my aid”.
