By Citizenship Daily
The Senate has strongly denied allegations made by the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central), who claimed that there were plans to arrest her upon her return from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) event held in New York.
Senate Spokesman, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, in a statement issued to journalist on
Monday in Abuja, dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims as “baseless and sensational”.
He said “she is looking for her lost content creation needle in a haystack,” adding “the Senate President and the Nigerian Senate have no reason to join issues with her anymore”.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, in an interview with an online newspaper, alleged that Senate President, Godswill Akpabio orchestrated a plot to have her arrested upon arrival in Abuja.
She further claimed that Akpabio sent Nigerian embassy officials to remove her from the United Nations premises following her speech at the IPU conference.
“I’m aware there are plans underway to arrest me as soon as I arrive in Abuja,” she said. “The Senate President sent three staff members, headed by the Chargè D’Affairs of the Nigerian embassy in New York, to evacuate me from the United Nations premises right after my speech. I was rescued by parliamentarians from other countries and the security.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently serving a suspension from the Senate, defended her attendance at the IPU event, stating that her registration was conducted online and that she had every right to participate.
However, the Senate Spokesman accused the senator of stirring unnecessary controversy and attempting to drag the institution into what he described as her “personal ordeal.”
“If she’s being haunted by her unguarded vituperations against Nigeria at the IPU in faraway New York, she should spare the Senate, which is not ready to be her accomplice in such a sordid voyage,” he added.
The dispute stems from Akpoti-Uduaghan’s continued assertion that her suspension does not disqualify her from international parliamentary engagements, while the Senate insists that she lacked official clearance to represent Nigeria at the conference.
