Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Chairman of the Senate Interparliamentary Committee, has dismissed the petition filed by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, calling it ‘dead on arrival, SAVANNAH NEWSNOW REPORTS.
The former Ondo governorship aspirant disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday.
Akpoti-Uduaghan took her dispute with Akpabio to the International Parliamentary Union, a United Nations forum, where she alleged political victimisation.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended on March 6 following a heated confrontation with Senate leaders over a new seating arrangement that she believed was intended to undermine her.
Tensions escalated when she publicly accused Akpabio on national television of punishing her for rejecting his alleged sexual advances.
During the Women in Parliament session at the United Nations in New York, Akpoti-Uduaghan urged international intervention to ensure the Nigerian Senate is held accountable.
But Ibrahim argued that her move was baseless as she was not a member of the union.
According to him, IPU membership was extended to Nigeria as a country and not Natasha.
He said, “A petition can only be lodged against another member state by a member state. This implies that the IPU cannot consider petitions from individuals who are not members. The suspended Senator Natasha is not a member of the IPU, but Nigeria is!
“Additionally, the suspended Senator cannot represent the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I served as the interim president of the IPU in Geneva in 2023, and I am familiar with how the IPU operates after presiding over its proceedings.
“Furthermore, as Chairman of the Interparliamentary Committee in the Nigerian Senate, I did not approve or authorise the suspended Senator Natasha to attend the IPU on behalf of Nigeria to the Senate President.”
