Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central has launched a blistering attack on Senate President Godswill Akpabio, accusing him of running the National Assembly like a dictatorship and treating her as though she were his “domestic staff.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan addressed journalists in Abuja on Tuesday shortly after resuming her office, which had been sealed for six months following her controversial suspension.
Security officials and the Sergeant-at-Arms had earlier unsealed her office, marking her official return.
“It’s amazing how much we’ve had to endure and survive these past six months,” she said.
“From the unjust suspension to the recall, the blocked roads and waterways into Kogi that forced us to fly by helicopter, and even the blackmail online. We survived it all.”
Suspended in March 2025 under controversial circumstances, the senator described her ordeal as “illegal and unjust,” stressing that her return was proof that institutions must be tested against abuse of power.
“No one is more Nigerian than the other. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am,” she declared.
“He treated me as if I was his servant. It is very unfortunate that after so many years of democracy, the Senate would be run like a dictatorship. That is totally unacceptable.”
Despite her suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she never abandoned her constituents.
“Even though I was illegally suspended, I continued seeking opportunities to bring infrastructure and projects to Kogi Central. I never stopped working for my people,” she noted.
She thanked her supporters, her husband, and her children for standing by her, describing the ordeal as a lesson in resilience and faith.
“Should I pray, all men should support their wives the way my husband supported me,” she said.
Her resumption follows a heated standoff in which her lawyers threatened legal action against the Clerk of the National Assembly if she was not allowed to resume after her suspension lapsed on September 15.
The Clerk, however, insisted the matter was still before the Court of Appeal.
With her fiery remarks against Akpabio, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return is expected to reignite political tensions within the Senate, where critics of the Senate President have long accused him of high-handedness and intolerance.