Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s dramatic take place in the Senate Hall, ordering Senate to represent Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-uduaghan to leave the room .
The dispute stems from a report by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno, who told Senate Senate Natasha that he refused to relocate to the new seat assigned to her. Monguno added that the redistribution aims to bridge the gap left by two defected opposition senators who joined All Progressive Conferences (APCs)
Monguno, citing Order 24, emphasized his power as chief whip and referred to Order 6, which granted the Senate President the power to reassign the Senate seat at any time. He further pointed out that the senators could only speak from their designated seats, thus strengthening Akpabio’s power to deny the endorsement of anyone speaking in an unallocated seat.
However, Senator Natasha stood up from her original seat and tried to call the 10th order, believing that her privilege had been violated. Akpabio then ruled out her order and asserted that she could not be recognized when speaking in an unauthorized seat.
Natasha is obviously frustrated, accusing Akpabio of deliberately silencing her voice and denying that she has the opportunity to contribute to the action. She claimed that her bills were repeatedly blocked from reaching the second reading.
She said she wouldn’t be pushed into the corner and the worst Akpabio could do was pause her. She stressed that even if she was suspended, she would continue to serve her people in the central Kogi and Nigeria of women
Natasha further claimed that Akpabio discriminated against her, fell into irony and made her inhumane.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she told Akpabio. “Do whatever you think is appropriate, but I won’t leave this seat. My voice will not be silent.”
When she was a MP who was formally elected by her constituency members, she challenged his authority to get her to suspend her.
However, after some senators stepped in to calm the tensions at that time, normal circumstances recovered.
This is not the first time Akpabio and Senator Natasha locked the corner in Chambers.
Watch their clash clip below today…
