After suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan returned from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) session in New York, she claimed that there were plans to arrest her. The Nigerian Senate rejected her claims.
The legislative body and Senate President Godswill Akpabio were not involved in these accusations, according to a statement issued on Monday by Senate spokesperson Adeyemi Adaramodu.
In response to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims, Adaramodu said, “She’s hoping to find her lost content creation needle in a haystack.”
“There’s no longer any reason for the Nigerian Senate and the Senate President to join forces over her.”
In the past, Akpoti-Uduaghan had asserted that, upon her arrival in Abuja, she would be arrested when Senate President Akpabio sent personnel to remove her from the UN grounds in New York.
In addition, she insisted that her attendance at the IPU function was lawful in spite of her Senate ban.
Adaramodu brushed off her charges, implying that she was subject to the fallout from her own statements during the IPU meeting.
He said, “If she is haunted by her unguarded vituperations against Nigeria at the IPU in distant New York, she should spare the Senate, which is not ready to be her accomplice in such a sordid voyage.”
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On Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan told Premium Times that she had signed up for the IPU event online.
She reaffirmed that an arrest was being organized for her return when questioned about the issue surrounding her decision to attend without official permission.
“As soon as I get to Abuja, I know there are preparations to have me arrested. Shortly after my address, Senate President Akpabio dispatched three staff members, led by the Chargé D’Affaires of the Nigerian embassy in New York, to remove me from the UN grounds.
“The security forces and lawmakers from other nations saved me,” she said.
The Senate maintains that it has no cause to dig deeper into the issue in spite of these allegations.
