The Senate on Tuesday directed its Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions to investigate what it called “disorderly conduct” of Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on the floor of the house last week.
The investigative panel is to turn in a report within three weeks.
The directive signals a potential suspension for her verbal altercation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over the reassignment of her seat in the Senate chambers.
The resolution of the Senate was sequel to its consideration and adoption of a report presented by the Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Adeyemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South).
In his presentation, Sen. Adaramodu briefed the Senate on the damaging aftermath of last Thursday’s plenary session, where Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan openly clashed with Sen. Akpabio over a seat reallocation, causing irreparable harm to the Senate’s reputation.
According to him, as the Senate’s image maker, he has been tirelessly visiting various media outlets to provide context on the issue from the red chamber’s perspective, emphasizing the difficulty in repairing the Senate’s severely damaged image due to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s stance on a relatively minor issue like seat reallocation and committee chairmanship.
In their remarks, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central); Minority Leader, Abba Moro (PDP, Ondo South) and Sen. Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo South) among others, lamented the conduct displayed by Akpoti-Uduaghan and recommended that the matter be referred to the appropriate organ for further investigation.
According to them, her actions violated key provisions of the Senate Standing Orders, which grant the presiding officer authority to assign seats and maintain order and decorum within the chambers.
They also criticized her for taking an internal matter that occurred within the chambers and escalating it into a media issue, which has resulted in the Senate receiving widespread negative publicity and damage to its reputation.
The senators voted to approve that the issue be referred the ethics committee for investigation and to report back to the Senate in two weeks.
Persecondnews had reported that Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan on Thursday February 20, clashed with the leadership over a seating arrangement.
Dispute started when her seat was reassigned due to a reshuffle, prompted by opposition members defecting to the majority wing.
She 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 cautioned that failure to comply would result in penalties, including being barred from participating in Senate debates.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio backed Monguno’s directive and refused to recognize Sen. Uduaghan when she tried to speak from her original seat, escalating the tension in the Senate 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 am not afraid of you. You have denied me my privilege.”
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