Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is set to resume plenary after her six-month suspension as her lawyer warns the Senate against blocking her constitutional right

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator representing Kogi Central, is set to officially resume plenary sessions today (Tuesday) after completing her six-month suspension from the Nigerian Senate.

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Her lawyer, Victor Giwa, confirmed the development, stating that the lawmaker has fully served her punishment and should be allowed to rejoin her colleagues without obstruction.

“To me, our client should just go straight and resume on Tuesday. Anything else they say is just an opinion,” Giwa said, stressing that the Senate cannot “legalise illegality.”

He added that any further attempt to stop her would contradict the chamber’s own resolution and plunge the legislature into “total chaos.”

Giwa maintained that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resumption is a constitutional right, not a matter for debate, noting that ongoing court actions concern only the legality of her suspension in March, not her return.

“If you deny her the chance to resume, it means that you are even going against your own resolution and the reason you suspended her in the first place,” he warned.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who had previously described Senate President Godswill Akpabio as a “dictator,” regained access to her office two weeks ago after it was unsealed by the Sergeant-at-Arms.

Her office had remained locked since March 6, 2025, when she was barred from all Senate activities over alleged misconduct during a protest against the reassignment of her seat.

Upon her return, the defiant lawmaker declared that she had “no apology to tender,” accusing the Senate leadership of running the chamber like a personal fiefdom.

“It is amazing how much we have had to pay in the past six months, from the unjust suspension to the recall. But we survived the recall, blackmail and that crazy lady on Facebook,” she said.

“In everything, sometimes it is good to push the institution to the test. We can’t cower in the face of injustice. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am.

He is not the governor of this place, yet he treated me as if I were a servant or domestic staff in his house. It is totally unacceptable.”

The National Assembly resumes plenary today after a two-week extension of its annual recess, and all eyes are on the red chamber to see whether the embattled senator will be allowed to take her seat.

Efforts to reach Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu and Akpabio’s media aide for comment were unsuccessful, as calls and messages went unanswered.

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As proceedings begin, the spotlight remains on Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, whose return is expected to test both the Senate’s unity and its adherence to constitutional fairness.