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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday asked the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, to disregard the National Assembly’s move to stop her from resuming at the parliament.
The lawmaker was suspended for six months by the Senate leadership on March 6 for violating the Red Chamber’s rules.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, on August 28, notified the Clerk of the National Assembly, Yahaya Danzaria, of her intention to resume legislative duties on September 4.
She also demanded immediate access to her office at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
However, the clerk of the National Assembly, in a reply dated September 4, turned down the request because Akpoti-Usuaghan’s suspension took effect from March 6.
He added that the senator remained suspended pending the ruling by the Court of Appeal.
However, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in a statement on Tuesday, told the senator to prepare for resumption at the National Assembly.
He stressed that the parliament’s directive was “highly provocative and constitutes a clear danger to democracy and the country’s stability.
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The statement read: “It also comes as part of the antics being deployed severally by the APC-controlled Senate and the federal government to suffocate the opposition, which further confirms the creeping totalitarianism in our country under the APC government.
“The reported action by the Clerk of the National Assembly against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan further brings to the fore the allegations of attacks on the right of women and sustained attempts to stifle their voices, as witnessed in the various accusations of harassment against women levelled against the current Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over the years.
“The extreme persecution of a six-month suspension unjustly imposed on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, contrary to the rules of the Senate, is more than enough, and the PDP stands with the people of Kogi Central and all well-meaning Nigerians in condemning this unwarranted renewed attack on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.”
Source: RipplesNigeria | Read the Full Story…
