The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions has dismissed the petition filed by Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
In the petition, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Mr Akpabio of sexual harassment, abuse of office, and obstruction of legislative duties.
It was referred to the committee earlier today during the plenary.
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Chairman of the Committee, Neda Imasuen (Edo South), ruled that the petition was “dead on arrival” and would not be entertained by the Senate.
Mr Imasuen, a member of the Labour Party (LP), cited a violation of Senate Order 40 (4), which stipulates that no senator may submit a petition personally signed by themselves.
Basis for rejection
Mr Imasuen argued that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition violated the Senate’s procedural rules, as she had personally signed the document.
“The petition she presented today is actually dead on arrival and that petitions having been submitted by her will not be entertained by this committee. She’s not here, and I can understand why she’s not here on the orders of her lawyers,” he said.
Senate Order 40 (4) explicitly states that “No senator may present to the Senate a petition signed by himself.”
Based on this provision, Mr Imasuen ruled that the committee would not consider her allegations against Mr Akpabio.
“No senator can sign a petition,” he added.
The Kogi senator did not attend the committee’s sitting.
Rejection of Court Order
Mr Imasuen also addressed an interim order from the Federal High Court in Abuja, which sought to halt the Senate Committee’s investigation into Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s alleged misconduct.
He dismissed the court’s directive, arguing that the judiciary has no authority over internal parliamentary proceedings.
The committee chairman described the court order as “unacceptable”.
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“This is unacceptable. If there’s a matter before them , we do not touch such matters. We know as parliamentarians, we know what our rights and privileges are, it is not subjected to any court. Whatever happens in the Senate is not subject to any court.
“The issue before us has to do with what happened on the floor of the Senate, and there are rules, and it is not subjected to any court,” he said.
Panel to probe alleged misconduct instead
While rejecting her petition, Mr Imasuen said the committee would proceed with an investigation into Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s alleged disorderly conduct on the floor of the Senate.
The incident in question involved her refusal to comply with the sitting arrangement during plenary on 20 February.
“Based on our rule book and other documents that are available before us, we will sit on disorderly misconduct,” Mr Imasuen said.
Implications
The committee’s ruling suggests that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan may not fully understand the Senate’s procedural rules before submitting her petition.
By signing the document herself, she inadvertently violated Order 40 (4), which explicitly prohibits senators from presenting petitions they have personally signed.
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