As senators Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the leadership argued over a seating arrangement, tensions erupted in the Senate on Thursday.
When opposition members defected to the majority wing, the controversy erupted when her seat was ressigned as a result of a reshuffle.
This development seemingly caught Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan off guard, sparking a heated exchange.
However, Akpoti-Uduaghan declined to move to her newly assigned seat, sparking a heated debate.
The Chief Whip, Sen. Tahir Monguno, defended the seating arrangement change by referencing Senate rules, which grant the Senate President the authority to make seat adjustments.
He also reaffirmed that breaking the law would impose penalties, including the suspension of one’s ability to attend Senate debates.
Sen. Uduaghan tried to speak from her original seat, but Senate President Godswill Akpabio backed Monguno’s request, escalating the conflict in the chamber.
In a bold show of defiance, the Kogi senator raised her voice, accusing the leadership of silencing her.
She said: “I do not care if I am silenced. I don’t worry about you. You have denied me my privilege”.
Sen. Uduaghan was ordered by the Senate President to escort him out of the chamber, which was a dramatic change.
However, other senators intervened, successfully diffusing the tense situation, although Sen. Uduaghan stood firm, refusing to vacate her original seat.
She has previously fought with the president of the Senate.
Persecondnews recalls that on Thursday, July 18, 2024, Akpabio told Sen. Uduaghan that the Senate chamber was not a nightclub, and therefore, she must be recognized before speaking during plenary.
Akpabio said: “Distinguished Sen. Natasha, in the chamber, you have to be recognised before you speak. We are not in a night club”.
The statement raised a lot of dust, with Akpabio later making a clarification, saying that people had misunderstood what he said.
He said: “We are still learning, even those of us who have been in the Senate for 16 years, we are still learning.
However, when I spoke with one of my illustrious sisters about not speaking when I was not recognized, I made mention of the fact that we are not in a club where people must shout above the noise of the music.
My wife called me to tell me that their number had been published on social media, and she received between 2 and 3 000 calls each day.
Because we are here for their needs, I am pleased with the interest Nigerians have in what is happening in this chamber.
“The communication was totally misunderstood, instead of making meaning with what we said, they went into private abuse, I do not want to say what they did to me.
I won’t intentionally denigrate any woman. I pray that God will bring a girl in Nigeria at its most proverbial and business zenith.
Source: Per Second News
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