Senate President Godswill Akpabio, through his media aide Kenny Okolugbo, has rejected claims by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan that she was treated like a domestic servant and labelled Akpabio a “dictator” during her suspension, describing the allegations as “untrue.”
The statements followed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return to her Senate office on Tuesday after months of legal and administrative disputes. Upon resuming, she accused Akpabio of treating her as if she were a domestic servant, called him a “dictator,” and insisted she had “no apology to tender” for her defiance.
He added that the Senate passed into law a bill sponsored by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan establishing a Federal Medical Centre in Kogi State while she was on suspension, wondering why the lawmaker would make such a claim.
Okolugbo, speaking on Channels TV on Wednesday, provided context for Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension. He said the suspension, effective from March 6, 2025, was imposed after the Ethics and Privileges and Public Petitions Committee presented its findings to the Senate, which deemed her conduct “despicable.”
He stressed that the decision followed all Senate rules and regulations.
“She attempted to resume in July, which was premature, because the judgment of Justice Binta Nyako did not order her to be reinstated… it was an opinion that said that the six-month suspension was excessive,” Okolugbo explained.
The media aide also highlighted the privileges and accomplishments Akpoti-Uduaghan enjoyed during her tenure, pointing out that she was inaugurated on November 2, 2023, and within weeks was appointed chairman of the Committee on Local Contents. By January 2024, she had become a member of the International Public Parliamentary Union and ECOWAS committees, and had submitted three bills.
Okolugbo noted that one of Natasha’s bills, concerning the Federal Medical Centre in Kogi State, was passed into law while she was still under suspension.
“How many senators have bills that have been passed into law? So how would she now say that she was being treated as a slave?” he asked.
He reiterated that the Senate followed proper procedures throughout her suspension and dismissed any suggestion of personal mistreatment by Akpabio as false.
