{"id":178326,"date":"2025-09-10T18:49:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T17:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio"},"modified":"2025-09-10T20:05:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T19:05:34","slug":"natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio","title":{"rendered":"Natasha’s Suspension Ends ADC Warns Senate Akpabio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticized the refusal of the Senate to allow Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to return after completing her six-month suspension.<\/p>\n

This was contained in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

In the statement, ADC described the continued obstruction as malicious, illegal, and morally indefensible, warning that it is a direct attack on Nigeria\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe suspension of Senator Natasha was imposed by the Senate, not by a court of law. And whether one agrees with the basis for that decision or not, the tenure of that disciplinary action has lapsed. Any further attempt to prevent her from resuming is therefore both illegal and morally indefensible,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

The ADC argued that the move is not just about Natasha but about setting a dangerous precedent where the will of the people can be ignored.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not about partisan politics. It is about a dangerous precedent being set within our legislative institutions, one that reduces democratic representation to the whims of a few individuals rather than the will of the electorate,\u201d Abdullahi said.<\/p>\n

The party stressed that Natasha was elected by the people of Kogi Central to represent them, and denying her access to the chamber \u201cis, by extension, denying her constituents the right to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement also revealed that during her suspension, Senator Natasha was cut off from salaries, legislative aides, and access to her office. \u201cThese are not privileges, but instruments of public service. To strip an elected senator of these tools is not discipline, it is institutional mugging,\u201d ADC declared.<\/p>\n

The ADC accused the Senate leadership of acting as though they are above the law.<\/p>\n

It added that several Senior Advocates of Nigeria have already affirmed that Natasha\u2019s suspension cannot legally be used to block her return. \u201cA pending legal appeal does not suspend constitutional rights, nor does it grant any official the power to override the mandate of the electorate,\u201d ADC stated.<\/p>\n

The party also criticized the Clerk of the National Assembly for refusing to process her return, saying his role is \u201cnot to adjudicate but to facilitate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ADC warned that the treatment of Senator Natasha could further discourage women from participating in politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cSenator Natasha is one of only four women in a Senate of 109 members. Nigeria\u2019s female representation of 2.7% is already among the worst in Africa. Any action that resembles gendered intimidation of the few women in the Senate would only discourage women\u2019s participation and make Nigeria appear even worse in the eyes of the world,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

The party concluded: \u201cNigeria cannot claim to be a democracy while marginalizing half of its population from its most critical spaces of decision-making. What is at stake here is not just one Senate seat, but the integrity of our democracy itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ADC then demanded that Senator Natasha be allowed to resume her duties without delay.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Nigeria. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticized the refusal of the Senate to allow Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to return after completing her six-month suspension. This was contained in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Wednesday. In the statement, ADC described the continued obstruction as malicious, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":178325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[118,16140,11955,254],"class_list":["post-178326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-adc","tag-akpabio-vs-natasha","tag-natasha","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"\nNatasha's Suspension Ends ADC Warns Senate Akpabio - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticized the refusal of the Senate to allow Senator Natasha Akpoti- ...\" \/>\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\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Natasha's Suspension Ends ADC Warns Senate Akpabio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticized the refusal of the Senate to allow Senator Natasha Akpoti- ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-10T17:49:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-10T19:05:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1757518687.236049.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Natasha’s Suspension Ends ADC Warns Senate Akpabio\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-10T17:49:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-10T19:05:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/09\/sm_1757518687.236049.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ADC\",\"Akpabio vs Natasha\",\"Natasha\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natashas-suspension-ends-adc-warns-senate-akpabio\",\"name\":\"Natasha's Suspension Ends ADC Warns Senate Akpabio - 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