Suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has clarified her recent attendance of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York without the authorisation of the Nigerian Senate.
The embattled lawmaker opened up to an online newspaper following a report that intelligence agencies were investigating her participation at the global parliamentarians forum following a petition from the Senate.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan explained that she put forward her registration online and obtained the nod to attend the meeting as a previous participant who is also on the IPU’s mailing list.
She also disclosed that the funding for the trip was personally borne by her.
She maintained that her suspension by the Senate did not remove her legitimacy as an elected Senator.
“I registered online as a Senator. The suspension does not remove my legitimacy as a Senator. I registered online and got a pass.
“I attended the same programme last year and was already on the mailing list. After I got a pass, I bought my own ticket and funded my trip and participation at the event,” she said.
She explained that her past participation in a meeting organised by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) played a role in her accreditation.
The suspended lawmaker stressed that IPU events are not exclusively reserved for government officials, adding that accredited individuals and civil society organisations are also free to attend such events.
Maintaining that her suspension from the Senate was illegal, Natasha insisted that the sanction did not strip her of her legitimacy as an elected senator.
She added that she attended the IPU meeting in her official capacity and spoke as a legitimate representative of her constituents.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Senate, in suspending Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan about two weeks ago, had resolved to strip her of any official function pending the suspension period, among other punitive measures.
