The Federal Government has been reportedly launched an investigation into how suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central gained access to the recent Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York without official nomination by Nigeria.
A report by an online newspaper, Premium Times, said sources within the President Bola Tinubu administration confirmed that the Department of State Service (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) were conducting the probe.
The agencies aimed to determine who facilitated the suspended lawmaker’s accreditation, whether her participation was orchestrated by interest groups to “embarrass the Nigerian government”, and if she violated any IPU or National Assembly protocols.
The IPU, a global parliamentary body, strictly regulates member participation, allowing only officially nominated delegates to attend meetings and speak on behalf of their respective countries. For Nigeria, the delegation comprises selected Senators, House of Representatives members, and parliamentary officials. Attendance as an observer requires explicit approval from both the IPU and the home country’s delegation.
However, Nigerian authorities argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan did not follow the protocols before gaining access to the IPU meeting on March 11. At the event, she addressed her recent suspension from the Nigerian Senate, alleging it was politically motivated and meant to silence her for exposing misconduct in the legislative chamber. She also raised allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
In response, IPU President Tulia Ackson assured that the parliamentary body would investigate the matter while also giving the Nigerian Senate an opportunity to present its side of the story.
A member of Nigeria’s official delegation to the IPU meeting, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, countered Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims. Speaking at the UN Secretariat a day after the embattled senator’s address, Mrs. Ogbara read a letter from Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, stating that the suspension of Natasha was due to violations of Senate Standing Rules during plenary sessions, not retaliation for her allegations against Senate President Akpabio.
Bamidele also questioned the legitimacy of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s presence at the meeting.
“Outside of Nigeria, or outside of this Senate, when it comes to our inter-parliamentary engagements, every one of those organisations, from the Inter-Parliamentary Union to the Commonwealth Parliament, to the African Union Parliament, to the ECOWAS Parliament, is run on the basis of rules and regulations, drawn from the protocols establishing those organisations.
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