Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has said she will resume plenary on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in line with a court decision, despite an appeal filed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio challenging the ruling.
In an interview while in her constituency for a training programme yesterday, Akpoti-Uduaghan confirmed she had written to the Senate to formally announce her intention to return.
“I have pretty much two months more before the six months expire. However, I have written to the Senate again telling them that I’m resuming on the 22nd, which is on Tuesday, by the special grace of God.
“I will be there, because the court did make the decision on that. Now, they argue that it’s an order, it’s not an order, but it is a decision,” she said.
The lawmaker, who was suspended in March, maintained that while the suspension did not stop her from delivering projects to her constituents, it hindered her ability to carry out key legislative duties such as sponsoring bills and moving motions.
 “I did mention that every senator has three major functions. Legislative, which is the creation of laws and review of treaties. Then we have oversight, which is to oversee ministers and agencies. And then the third is representation, which I’m doing.
“Whereby I identify the problems and the challenges of my community, and I make sure I present them and have them captured in the federal budget. And I have done pretty well with that. Of course, I do miss putting up my bills there, but it didn’t stop me from working,” she explained.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan said she has communicated her intentions to resume on Tuesday in a letter to the Senate.
On March 6, the Senate suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months for breaching its rules.
The suspension came amid her allegation of sexual harassment against Senator Akpabio. The Kogi lawmaker, however, took the matter to court, challenging her suspension.
A recent ruling declared the suspension illegal, but the Senate has since filed an appeal, which the senator said does not stop her resumption.
Her planned return sets the stage for a fresh confrontation in the red chamber, as she presses on with what she describes as her constitutional right to representation

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