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Former Labour Party’s vice presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed on Tuesday, criticised the zealous efforts to prevent Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from entering the National Assembly premises on Tuesday.
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended by the Senate in March for six months, had vowed to resume following the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja which expressly described the six-month suspension as unconstitutional.
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The Senate had written back to the senator to inform her that its interpretation of the judgement, which was controversially framed like an advisory recommending her reinstatement, did not suggest that the court ordered her to be recalled.
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, accompanied by her supporters on Tuesday, was blocked from entering the National Assembly premises.
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Mr Baba-Ahmed described the efforts put into stopping the senator from resuming as a display of misplaced priorities.
“Lack of priorities or mispriorities! These are people who will not react to the recent dastardly act in the North East, something just happened. These are people who will not react when the Naira crashed again in 2023-24.
“These are people who will not react to constitutional breaches or school abductions. That is, our priorities are completely misplaced – so I call what happened.”
Mr Baba-Ahmed said this during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday.
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was barred from accessing the National Assembly’s main building by security personnel comprising the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the State Security Services (SSS) and the Sergeant-at-Arms.
The senator had vowed to resume duty following the Federal High Court’s ruling that her suspension for six months was unconstitutional.
She was accompanied by activists, including Aisha Yesufu, and a crowd of supporters.
Mr Baba-Ahmed, who expected a larger crowd to accompany the senator, noted the failure of Nigerians to converge and protest to defend their civic rights, security and livelihoods.
He noted that many people would rather come out en masse for frivolities. Mr Baba-Datti encouraged Nigerians to unite in their fight to defend their civic rights, putting aside religious and ethnic differences.
“We have to stop talking about the North-West, South-South, North-Central, South-East and all these regions. Talk about social strata. The middle class, if it exists…Talk about labour, TUC (Trade Union Congress). Talk about security personnel. Talk about farmers. Talk about traders, importers. Those are the geopolitical zones that we should be talking about,” he said.
Background
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended in March 2025 for alleged misconduct during the Senate plenary session of 20 February. The suspension was unanimously approved by her colleagues based on the Ethics Committee’s recommendation.
She filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the disciplinary proceedings initiated against her and subsequently her suspension by the Senate.
The suit led to the ruling delivered by the judge, Binta Nyako.
READ ALSO: Suspension: I’ll approach appellate court for interpretation of legal impasse – Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
The court held that suspending an elected senator for six months was not only disproportionate but also effectively silenced an entire senatorial district for most of the legislative year. In an unusual manner, the judge toned down her order, framing it like an advisory that left the Senate with the discretion to recall or not to recall her.
On 12 July, Ms Akpoti-Uduaghan notified the management of the National Assembly of her intention to resume legislative duties on Tuesday.
However, on 13 July, the National Assembly management maintained that the judgement by the Federal High Court was merely advisory, not an enforceable order.
