Former Minister of Education Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili has demanded the immediate reinstatement of Kogi Centra Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, warning that the senate’s handling of the case poses a grave threat to the country’s democracy.
In the statement titled “The Senate’s Constitutional Overreach in the Case of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan,” and made available to newsmen in Abuja, Ezekwesili said the Senate had crossed its constitutional boundaries by acting as “both accuser and judge” in a matter involving its leadership.
She recalled how the chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee had dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition alleging sexual harassment by Senate President Godswill Akpabio as “dead on arrival” before any formal investigation was carried out. According to her, such prejudgment revealed a system “designed to protect power rather than pursue truth.”
“This case transcends one Senator or constituency—it concerns our democracy’s soul and our collective responsibility to protect it. If a duly elected Senator can be silenced for exercising constitutional rights to petition and speak, what protection exists for ordinary citizens?,” she wrote.
Ezekwesili, who is also the founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) criticized what she described as the Senate’s defiance of court orders, noting that Justice Binta Nyako had explicitly affirmed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s right to resume her legislative duties. She warned that every day without remedy “chips away at democracy’s foundation” and sends the wrong message to future generations that the law is optional for the powerful.
Calling the suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan a “democratic assault,” she demanded the Senate immediately rescind its decision, recall the Kogi lawmaker, and end what she termed a “scandalous misappropriation of public office powers.”
To fellow Nigerians, Ezekwesili urged collective vigilance, insisting that democracy thrives when citizens refuse to be “silent spectators to injustice.” She argued that the constitution gives more power to the people than to elected officials, but that power only matters if citizens act.
“The Senate President and 107 Senators are not more powerful than Nigeria’s people. Our collective defense of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s immediate return defends every Nigerian’s right against public power abuse,” she added.
The memo by Ezekwesili follows the decision by the upper legislative chamber to prevent the Kogi Central Senator from resuming her legislative duties despite the completion of her six-month suspension. Acting Clerk of the National Assembly, Yahaya Danzaria, in a letter, cited ongoing judicial proceedings as the reason for the decision.
Senator Natasha was suspended on March 6, 2025, for alleged misconduct and violation of Senate rules, following a dispute with Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The suspension, which included the withdrawal of her salary, allowances, security details, and access to the National Assembly, was widely criticized as retaliation for her petition accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment.
