By Ghazali Ibrahim
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Thursday openly challenged what she described as her exclusion from official Senate activities, accusing colleagues of sidelining her from key engagements including a major international women’s conference.
The Kogi Central lawmaker raised the issue during plenary while the Senate Committee on Women Affairs was defending its budget.
In an emotional intervention, she alleged that the committee’s leadership failed to properly involve her in arrangements for the upcoming United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) event scheduled to hold in New York.
Akpoti-Uduaghan specifically pointed fingers at the Committee Chairman, Senator Ireti Kingibe, claiming there was a lack of coordination among female senators and that she had been isolated from the planning process.
According to her account, she received notice of an invitation to attend the CSW event at about 1 p.m. the previous day and was instructed to submit her passport for processing. She said she complied within three hours of receiving the message.
However, she was later informed by officials at the Ministry of Women Affairs that her response came too late and that she would no longer be part of the delegation.
“I was only informed about the event yesterday at 1:00 pm, and I immediately responded with my passport,” she said on the Senate floor.
“Despite my prompt response, I was subsequently told that I responded too late and would not be attending.”
The senator questioned why she should be treated differently, particularly for a global event focused on advancing women’s rights and representation.
Her remarks have reignited conversations about internal dynamics within the Senate, especially regarding the already limited number of female lawmakers in the 10th Assembly.
While there has been no immediate public response from the Committee on Women Affairs or the Ministry, the episode has added to ongoing tensions surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s relationship with some Senate colleagues.
