Friday, July 11, 2025 - The embattled Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has been removed as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced this during
Senate plenary on Thursday, July 10. He announced Senator Aniekan Bassey, who
represents Akwa Ibom North-East and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)
as Natasha's replacement.
“The new
chairman is Distinguished Senator Aniekan Bassey, and it will take effect from
today,” Akpabio announced on the Senate floor.
This marks the second time Akpoti-Uduaghan, a first-time
Senator elected on the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), has been removed from a committee leadership position in the current
assembly.
She initially chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content
but was stripped of that role in February. After that, she was reassigned to
lead the Diaspora and NGOs committee before her removal again.
Akpabio also hinted at a broader reorganisation of Senate
committees, particularly with regard to vice chairmanships, in a bid to ensure
fairer representation among Senators.
“We will
make some changes to our vice chairmanship positions next week. Some of the
Senators have two vice chairmanship positions. Every Senator should either be a
chairman or a vice chairman, so we balance the situation.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s removal came months after she was
suspended in March for alleged gross misconduct following her altercation with
the Senate President during plenary.
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