The lawmaker representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has claimed that a lot of her privileges as a Senator have been denied.
She stated this on Friday during an interview on Brekete Family, a Human Rights Radio and Television programme in Abuja.
PUNCH Online reports that there was a rowdy section at the Senate during Thursday’s plenary session after Akpoti-Uduaghan refused to use a seat allocated to her.
The Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker discovered that her seat had been reassigned upon resumption of the session and decided to voice her concerns.
Refusing to comply with the new arrangement, the lawmaker challenged the decision, sparking a heated exchange in the chamber with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
However, Akpoti-Uduaghan stated that she has been going through a lot since her first clash with the Senate President.
The female lawmaker also stated that she has been pulled out of many international activities by the Senate leadership, saying she should be allowed to work.
She said, “My attention was drawn that you were actually speaking about the issue on your programme today, so thank you so much for your concern.
“I have been going through a lot, and I have remained quiet because I didn’t want to be interpreted wrongly. I didn’t want any lawsuit against me.
“I just wanted to be given the chance to work. A lot of my privileges have been denied. I have been pulled out of many international activities that I have been part of since that whole nightclub incident that happened last year.
“In fact, there was even a United Nations event that I was supposed to attend, which I was nominated for, but my name was struck out that they would not promote me in any event internationally.
“So every event that I have been going to since last year has been self-sponsored. I have been going through a lot. Yesterday, I didn’t speak out of order. He was reading my suspension, and I had to invoke Order 10, which is an order of privilege.”
PUNCH
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