Drama ensued in the Senate chambers this morning after Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, grounded the plenary over her seat that was changed without her consent.
The altercation stemmed from a report by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno, who informed the Senate that Senator Natasha had refused to relocate to a new seat assigned to her.
Monguno added that the reassignment was intended to close gaps left by two defecting opposition senators who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from a minority party
Citing Order 24, Monguno highlighted his authority as Chief Whip and referenced Order 6, which grants the Senate President the power to reassign senators’ seats at any time.
He further noted that senators can only speak from their designated seats, reinforcing Akpabio’s authority to deny recognition to anyone speaking from an unassigned seat.
Monguno, had hardly concluded a point of order before Natasha engaged in a shouting melee, arguing that her privileges had been violated.
Akpabio then ruled her out of order, asserting that she could not be recognized while speaking from an unauthorized seat.
Visibly frustrated, Natasha accused Akpabio of deliberately silencing her voice and denying her the opportunity to contribute to motions. She claimed her bills had been repeatedly blocked from reaching the second reading.
Amid the confusion, the Senate President’s attempt to calm nerves was bluffed as the female lawmaker insisted to know, “reasons why her seat was changed without her consent.”
The chaos was controlled after the public address systems were shut and normalcy was restored afterwards.
