After serving her six-month suspension, the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is set to officially resume plenary sessions along with other lawmakers today (Tuesday).

The assurance was given by one of her lawyers, Victor Giwa, in an interview with The PUNCH.

The upper chamber had earlier shifted its resumption from September 23 to October 7, 2025, extending its annual recess by two weeks and halting deliberations on several key national priorities.

Her legal team has warned the Senate against any move to block her entry into the chamber, insisting that the Kogi Central lawmaker had already served out her punishment and is constitutionally entitled to resume legislative duties.

Giwa expressed optimism, saying he believed ‘the worst is over.’

He said, “To me, our client should just go straight and resume on Tuesday. Anything else they say is just an opinion. As Femi Falana said, the Senate cannot become an institution that legalises illegality.

“You cannot muscle up the National Assembly to be at the dictates of a few persons. The National Assembly is a creation of law, and its actions must be determined by law, not by the whims of the leadership.”

According to him, blocking her again would amount to contradicting the Senate’s own resolution and plunging the legislature into “total chaos.”

“She has served out the six months, so whatever is going to be in court right now is only to determine whether your action in March was validly made.

It has nothing to do with her resumption.

“If you deny her the chance to resume, it means that you are even going against your own resolution and the reason you suspended her for six months in the first place.

“That is total chaos you are fanning and the National Assembly cannot be seen promoting such,” he cautioned.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had described Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, as a “dictator” when she was allowed into her office two weeks ago after serving her sanction.

Her return followed the unsealing of her office, located in Suite 2.05 of the Senate Wing, by the Deputy Director of the National Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms, Alabi Adedeji.

Upon resumption, the lawmaker, who has been on suspension, remained resolute, insisting that she has “no apology to tender.”

She said, “It is actually amazing how much we have had to pay in the past six months, from the unjust suspension to the recall. But we survived the recall, blackmail and that crazy lady on Facebook.

“In everything, sometimes it is good to push the institution to the test. We can’t cower in the face of injustice. No one is more Nigerian than us. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am.

“He is not the governor of this place, yet he treated me as if I were a servant or domestic staff in his house. It is so unfortunate that we will have a National Assembly being run by such a dictator. It is totally unacceptable.”

The office had been locked since March 6, 2025, when the lawmaker was suspended from the Red Chamber.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, who has been at the centre of a protracted standoff with the Senate leadership, also maintained her defiance, stressing that she had “no apology to tender.”

The embattled lawmaker was handed a six-month suspension in March, barring her from all activities of the 10th Senate over alleged misconduct during her protest against the reassignment of her seat by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on February 20.

Although her suspension formally lapsed in September, she was unable to return due to legal tussles and resistance from Senate leadership.Efforts to reach Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, and the media aide to the Senate President for comment proved unsuccessful as calls and messages went unanswered.

With the National Assembly resuming today after its long recess, the spotlight is firmly on the red chamber as Nigerians wait to see whether Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan will be allowed to walk back into plenary—or be blocked at the gates. (PUNCH)

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