The Nigerian Senate has dismissed allegations by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan regarding a planned arrest upon her return from the Inter-Parliamentary Union event in New York.
Senate Spokesman, Adeyemi Adaramodu, in a press statement sent to our correspondent on Monday, said that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Senate have no reason to engage with Akpoti-Uduaghan on the matter.
“She’s looking for her lost content creation needle in a haystack,” Adaramodu said, dismissing the senator’s claims.
“The Senate President and the Nigerian Senate have no reason to join issues with her anymore.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan had alleged plans to arrest her upon her arrival in Abuja, claiming that Senate President Akpabio had sent staff to “evacuate” her from the UN premises.
She also asserted that her participation in the IPU event was legitimate, despite her suspension.
In response, Adaramodu suggested that Akpoti-Uduaghan was being troubled by her own actions at the IPU.
“If she’s being haunted by her unguarded vituperations against Nigeria at the IPU in faraway New York, she should spare the Senate, which is not ready to be her accomplice in such a sordid voyage,” he stated.
Akpoti-Uduaghan revealed in an interview with an online newspaper on Sunday while fielding questions on why she attended the UN Inter-Parliamentary Union in New York despite not securing the needed official approval.
Midway through her interview, the senator alleged that she knew plans were underway to arrest her as soon as she stepped foot in Abuja.
She said, “I’m aware there are plans underway to arrest me as soon as I arrive in Abuja. The Senate President Akpabio sent three staff members, headed by the Chargè D’Affairs of the Nigerian embassy in New York, to evacuate me from the United Nations premises right after my speech.
“I was rescued by parliamentarian from other countries and the security.”
The senator explained that she had registered for the meeting online.
