The Nigerian Senate has said it will not reinstate suspended lawmaker, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, until it receives and examines the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Federal High Court judgment ordering her recall.
Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, was suspended on March 6 for six months following a disagreement with the Senate leadership over a change in her designated seat. The suspension was based on a recommendation by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, led by Senator Neda Imasuen (APC, Edo South).
In line with the suspension, the senator’s salary and security details were withdrawn, and she was barred from entering the National Assembly complex.
However, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja recently ordered the Senate to lift her suspension, although the court also found her in contempt and imposed a ₦5 million fine.
Responding to the ruling, Adaramodu confirmed that the Senate had applied for the CTC of the judgment and would act only after studying its contents.
“The Senate had applied for the CTC since Monday. We expect to get the document, and once we get it, we are going to comply with the content of the court order,” he said.
“But first, the Senate will sit and consider the contents of the CTC, and when we look at the contents, then we shall take a position.”
Adaramodu criticised public misconceptions surrounding the matter, stressing that the Senate operates under clear constitutional guidelines and internal rules.
“The Senate, by law, is empowered to make its rules that guide it. If we don’t have rules guiding us, we will become like barbarians,” he said.
Using the seat-change dispute as an example, he added, “If there is no rule on seating, it means that early in the morning, I can wake up and say I want to sit where the President of the Senate is sitting because he is my colleague, and that will turn the whole place into chaos.”
He explained that the Senate’s Standing Orders empower the chamber to discipline members who violate its rules, and the length of such sanctions is determined at the Senate’s discretion if not expressly stated.
According to Adaramodu, the 180-day suspension given to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan includes non-legislative days, noting that the Senate rules define the duration in parliamentary days.
He expressed concern that despite judicial clarity on the Senate’s powers, some individuals continue to misrepresent the institution’s actions.
“Possibly, what they were expecting was that anybody can disobey; anybody can break any rule and that the Senate must not take any stand,” he added.
Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South, emphasized that only legislators truly understand how the parliamentary process works and reaffirmed that the Senate would act in line with constitutional and procedural requirements once it receives the court judgment.
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