“No Legal Backing! Akpabio Shuts Down Natasha’s Senate Resumption Drama”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed as false and deceptive the claims by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan that she had a court-backed mandate to return to the Senate.

Natasha had appeared at the National Assembly on July 22, 2025, insisting a court order permitted her resumption, but was denied entry into the Senate chamber along with her supporters.

In an interview with Vanguard, Akpabio’s media strategist, Kenny Okolugbo, said Natasha’s actions were a deliberate media stunt, not a legitimate legislative move. He emphasized that she failed to notify either the Senate leadership or the Clerk of the National Assembly of her intention to return.

“There was no formal communication sent to the Senate President or the Clerk regarding her resumption,” Okolugbo explained. “Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the Senate spokesperson, also clarified that Justice Binta Nyako’s ruling did not include any direct order for the Senate to reinstate her.”

He noted that Natasha’s legal counsel, Juan Numa (SAN), did send a letter to the Senate, which was acknowledged and responded to by the Clerk—indicating the matter had been procedurally addressed.

Instead of awaiting formal processes, Okolugbo accused Natasha of orchestrating a media spectacle, arriving with political supporters and street mobs to stir public sentiment under a false narrative.

More importantly, he pointed to Ground 23 of her appeal in Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan vs. Clerk of the National Assembly & Others, where it was clearly acknowledged that the court did not grant her the specific relief of reinstatement.

Quoting directly:

“The learned trial judge erred in law and abdicated her judicial duty when Her Ladyship, after rightly adjudging the Appellant’s suspension… as excessive… failed to expressly make a clear pronouncement SET ASIDE and/or NULLIFY same accordingly.”

Okolugbo concluded that Natasha’s claim of a judicial green light to resume was unfounded, calling it a political maneuver rather than a legal victory.