Senate Replaces Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan – Appoints Aniekan Bassey as New Committee Chairman
The Senate has appointed Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, replacing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who remains under suspension. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the change during Thursday’s plenary session.
Aniekan Bassey, representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District, takes over from Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after being removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle. No official reason was provided for her latest removal, but it is widely linked to her ongoing suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered Akpoti-Uduaghan’s reinstatement and instructed her to apologize to the Senate.
However, the Senate claims it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment. Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling declaring her suspension “excessive and unconstitutional.”
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan stated she is awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional processes.
A legal opinion dated July 5, attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the court’s ruling lacks a binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
As one of only three female senators in the current assembly, Akpoti-Uduaghan emphasized the broader implications of her exclusion. “By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central—it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation.
We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
