By Joy Yesufu and Kamsi Anayo
The National Assembly has reopened the office of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central), signaling a possible resolution to her months-long standoff with Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
On Tuesday, the Sergeant-at-Arms, backed by security personnel, unsealed Office 205 in the Senate wing, restoring Akpoti-Uduaghan’s access to her workspace and the Assembly premises.
This development clears the path for her potential return to plenary when lawmakers resume on October 7, 2025.
According to sources, the decision followed a Senate leadership meeting on Monday. “A motion will be moved and, barring changes, the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South), is expected to move for her to apologise. Once seconded, it will be taken,” one source said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, a former Chair of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, was suspended in March for six months after protesting the reassignment of her seat by Akpabio. The Senate accused her of breaching its Standing Orders.
Her suspension, which expired in September, was challenged in court.
In July, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ruled the punishment “excessive and unconstitutional,” ordering her recall. The judge warned that prolonged suspensions deprived constituents of representation.
Despite the ruling, the Senate insisted she must serve the full suspension. When Akpoti-Uduaghan attempted to return, she was denied entry.
Her lawyer, Michael Jonathan Numa (SAN), pressed the case further in a September 11 letter to the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamorudeen Ogunlana, warning that failure to reinstate her by September 15 could trigger contempt proceedings, disciplinary action, and other legal remedies.
Responding through his Director of Information, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, Ogunlana said his office lacked the authority to act without a Senate resolution.
He stressed that only the Senate could determine whether Akpoti-Uduaghan could resume without fresh approval following the expiration of her suspension.
With her office now reopened, attention shifts to the Senate’s October plenary session, where lawmakers are expected to decide whether she will be reinstated outright or required to tender an apology before reclaiming her seat.
