Senate spokesman Yemi Adaramodu on Friday criticized fellow senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over a seating dispute in the Senate chamber, after Akpoti-Uduaghan refused to occupy her assigned seat, citing Order 10 of the Senate Standing Rules which safeguards members’ privileges, SAVANNAH NEWSNOW REPORTS.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), declined to take her assigned seat on Thursday, invoking Order 10 of the Senate Standing Rules, which protects members’ privileges, prompting Senate President Godswill Akpabio to call for her removal from the chamber by security.
Akpabio was told by Akpoti-Uduaghan that she was not intimidated and would not be silenced, declaring ‘I’m not afraid of you.’
However, the intervention of other lawmakers prevented the situation from escalating.
Adaramodu, speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, stressed that the National Assembly is a forum for serious governance, not entertainment.
“What we are saying is that the National Assembly is not for content creation in entertainment. National Assembly is for serious business,” he said.
Adaramodu, who represents the Ekiti South Senatorial District, also responded to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims of being bullied or marginalized, noting that as a first-time senator, she chairs three committees, a privilege usually limited to one committee.
“If she is talking like that being bullied or sidelined, as a first-timer, she even had three committees that she was appointed as chairman. You are entitled to only committee to be the chairman and she is in charge of Foreign Affairs, NGOs now,” Adaramodu noted.
