Since the 109 members of the Nigerian Senate each represent specific constituencies across six geopolitical zones of the country, in that case, every legislator in the Upper House is equal. When it comes to the Standing Orders of the Senate 2015 (As Amended) the red chamber’s president Godswill Akpabio has the sole authority to allocate and re-allocate seating arrangements – going against this following a committee’s deliberation today held a probability of sinking into an immediate 24 weeks of suspension for the Senator representing Kogi Central Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and this was eventually what happened.

Since Thursday, 27 February 2025, the north central region Akpoti-Uduaghan has been caught up in a feisty skin-peeling atmosphere with the President of the Senate and, in the same vein, the National Assembly.

On this day, the Kogi senator confronted the Upper House leader over the recent change from her near to the front-row seat. Understandably, a position like this is a legislator’s delight because it lets them contribute vibrantly during discussions.

ALSO READ: NCDMB seeks closer collaboration at retreat for Senate Committee on Local Content

Was the fact that she thought she was losing her prominence the reason for the fierce Natasha the past seven days has seen?

Rule 11 of the Senate’s Standing Order explains it. This part of the document allows room specifically for Mr. Godswill Akpabio to do what his supporters at home in Akwa Ibom and the upper chamber have backed him to do – that is to coordinate proceedings and organising where members speak from. Here is one special prerogative of the Senate President pointing to the fact that members are not equal in all cases.

It has seemed that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had been oblivious of this standing rule, which is divided in two. The first one gives the Senate president the power to allocate a seat to each Senator, and in the second, a Senator may only speak from the seat allocated to him, provided that the President of the Senate may change the allocation from time to time.

By so stating, the rule allows the Senate president to reshuffle seats at will. By standards, front-row seats would often prioritise principal officers or the senior-ranking representatives over the other.

The good spot

Perhaps, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s role as the chairperson of the Upper House Diaspora and NGOs committee means to be expectedly up the pecking order, but it was gathered that the rearrangement of seats she opposed last Thursday was all part of mending bridges.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) majority party, it has been reported, had recently received Senate members cross-carpeting to the other side of the aisle, and an arrangement was made to free up seats in an area to accommodate the transition, hence why Senator Akpabio made the change.

Yesterday, it was gathered that the Kogi Central representative submitted a petition to the Senate’s Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct Committee against Godswill Akpabio.

The petition alleged abuse of office, sexual harassment, and obstruction of legislative duties against the Senate President, which the committee dismissed because it was proposed by the petitioner’s constituent alone, and the document only attached her signature.

A day after the petition was dismissed, it was gathered that the petitioner submitted it one more time, coinciding with exactly a week since the seat row started.

Underneath the rubble, there was an expectation that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan might apologise and have a clean slate in her role, but it is not looking likely with the Senate voting on an ethics committee recommendation to suspend her by the end of Thursday.

The recommendation got the expected several nods. As a result, it is expected that the suspended member will be excluded from legislative chamber roles and functions. There would be no business duties for her aides during the period, essentially meaning none of the officers will be paid.

ALSO READ: Hawkish Nigerian Senate bans a member who accused it of padding the 2024 budget

Laying out a strong claim of her sexual harassment or abuse of office petition against the president of the Senate would probably have gotten Akpoti-Uduaghan more ground, but the Chairman of the ethics committee that resorted to probe the Kogi representative for the violation of House rules last week described it as dead on arrival.

Assembly of silence

Based on this response by the committee headed by Senator Neda Imasuen, who is with the Labour Party and represents the Edo South Senatorial District, as well as other Senate members feeling that they must assert the rules, it means the window of opportunities to make amends has now closed at the sunny end of Kogi Central although it looks like a polarised decision, not reflecting the Nigerian people’s wish, which then supposedly makes the suspended lawmaker a heroine to some.

We must be grateful to Senator @NatashaAkpoti for giving us this important #Moment – whatever the outcome of the whole saga might be. Her #courage is helping to expose the rather dark underbelly of one of Nigeria’s highest institutions. A new Senate Order must be an outcome! reads a tweet off X from the Presidential candidate of the Kowa party in the 2015 General Elections.

There appears to be momentum despite the Upper House being seen as silencing voices. Like ensuring that the now suspended senator didn’t have access to a microphone to air her views and the Senate Committee that probed her shunning other independent petition against Godswill Akpabio.

One submitted on Monday, 3 March 2025, by a lawyer, Myson A. Nejo, reportedly did not get attention as the assembly didn’t refer to it before the vote to suspend. Part of this particular petition recalled Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sour encounter when she visited Akwa Ibom State for the Senate President’s birthday party on 8 December of the previous year alongside her husband.

The Nejo-cited petition recorded the statement: During our visit, Senator Akpabio was escorting me around his residence, holding my hand while my husband followed from behind and remarked that he would like me to visit regularly to share moments.

My husband overheard the comment and subsequently advised me to refrain from travelling alone or being in the company of the Senate President without accompaniment.

Godswill Akpabio wanted to spend time ALONE with me at his Ikot Ekpene home.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.