{"id":86052,"date":"2025-09-15T15:41:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator"},"modified":"2025-09-15T16:38:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:38:02","slug":"gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator","title":{"rendered":"Gambian NAM Demands Reinstatement of Suspended Nigerian Senator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Fatoumatta \u2018Touma\u2019, Njai, a National Assembly Member of The Gambia, has written to Nigeria\u2019s senate president, Godswill Akpabio, urging the immediate reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Njai described the suspension of the female Kogi State lawmaker as \u201cunlawful\u201d and \u201ca blatant affront to the rule of law.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

In a strongly\u2014worded letter dated 9th September, and copied to all Nigerian senators, international institutions, and the diplomatic corps, Njai condemned the Nigerian senate\u2019s refusal to comply with a federal high court judgment that voided Akpoti-Uduaghan\u2019s suspension.<\/p>\n

A federal high court judge in Abuja had ruled on 4th July, 2025, that the six-month suspension \u2014 equivalent to 180 sitting days \u2014 was unconstitutional, as it deprived a legislator of their constitutional duty under Section 63 of the 1999 Constitution.<\/p>\n

Despite the ruling, Senator Natasha was denied access to the chamber on 22nd July, and the senate has since extended her suspension. Njai said this not only flouted the court\u2019s judgment but also contravened the Senate\u2019s own Standing Orders.<\/p>\n

Njai, who chairs the Gender and Children\u2019s Welfare Committee in The Gambia\u2019s parliament and previously served in the Ecowas Parliament, emphasised that Senator Natasha\u2019s suspension undermines her constituents\u2019 rights and threatens the broader struggle for women\u2019s and youths\u2019 political representation in Nigeria and across Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator Natasha represents not only her constituents but also the hopes of millions of women and youths in Nigeria and the world at large. Her exclusion is a denial of the democratic principles that bind Nigeria as a nation,\u201d Njai said.<\/p>\n

Closing her letter, she urged the senate leadership to restore Akpoti-Uduaghan\u2019s seat immediately: \u201cThe six months is over. As a woman in leadership, a woman that respects the rule of law and yearns for more women in elective positions, I firmly call on the immediate recall of the senator. Justice delayed is justice denied.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Natasha was suspended after accusing the powerful Senate President Godswill Akpabio, a key ally of President Tinubu of sexual harassment in 2023.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Fatoumatta \u2018Touma\u2019, Njai, a National Assembly Member of The Gambia, has written to Nigeria\u2019s senate president, Godswill Akpabio, urging the immediate reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Njai described the suspension of the female Kogi State lawmaker as \u201cunlawful\u201d and \u201ca blatant affront to the rule of law.\u201d In a strongly\u2014worded letter dated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":86050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-86052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nGambian NAM Demands Reinstatement of Suspended Nigerian Senator - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fatoumatta \u2018Touma\u2019, Njai, a National Assembly Member of The Gambia, has written to Nigeria\u2019s senate president, Godswi ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gambian NAM Demands Reinstatement of Suspended Nigerian Senator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fatoumatta \u2018Touma\u2019, Njai, a National Assembly Member of The Gambia, has written to Nigeria\u2019s senate president, Godswi ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T15:41:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T16:38:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1757941653.475834.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Gambian NAM Demands Reinstatement of Suspended Nigerian Senator\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T15:41:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T16:38:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator\"},\"wordCount\":352,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1757941653.475834.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambian-nam-demands-reinstatement-of-suspended-nigerian-senator\",\"name\":\"Gambian NAM Demands Reinstatement of Suspended Nigerian Senator - 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