By Ameh Gabriel
The suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has once again come into focus, following the expiration of her six-month suspension on September 4, 2025.
Under Order 68(7) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2023 (as amended), suspensions are time-bound. Once the period elapses, the Senator has a right to return to her seat. But instead of allowing her to return, the leadership of the Senate has decided to hold her resumption down, pointing to the pending appeal and the order of stay of enforcement on the judgment of the Federal High Court, which declared her suspension unconstitutional.
Although this position appears to be a “valid” legal argument on the surface, we must not ignore the constitutional problem it creates. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), clearly states that sovereignty belongs to the people, and the participation of the people in government must be guaranteed. By refusing to let Senator Natasha return after her suspension has lapsed, the Senate is not only punishing her beyond its own rules; it is also denying the people of Kogi Central their right to be represented. A Senator’s mandate does not belong to the Senator as a person; it belongs to the people. When you silence that voice, you silence the electorate.
It is also important to point out that while the order of stay halts the enforcement of the Federal High Court’s decision, it does not and cannot extend the six-month suspension already imposed. That suspension, by the Senate’s own rules, has already run its course. What is happening now is the imposition of an indefinite suspension, which violates both the Standing Orders and the spirit of the Constitution.
The real danger here lies in the precedent being set. If the Senate can use appeals and stays as cover to keep an elected Senator out of her seat long after a suspension has expired, then the door is open for the same to be done to anyone else in the future. This kind of precedent undermines democracy. It leaves the people unrepresented and makes the Senate look like an institution that is more concerned with technicalities than with the Constitution it swore to uphold.
The honourable path before the Senate is to allow Senator Natasha to resume her duties while the Court of Appeal considers the substantive case. This way, the Senate can respect both the rule of law and the principle of representation, which is at the very core of our constitution.
OLUWASEYI FARO, ESQ.
F: DEJI ADEYANJU & PARTNERS
