- HEDA sues NASS over constitutional breach
- Take calls for due process in Senate seriously, Saraki tells Akpabio
- Akeredolu’s widow tasks women on courage
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, with legal action if he fails to rescind the “unlawful” suspension of his fellow senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central), since the suspension was based solely on the exercise of her constitutionally and internationally recognised right to freedom of expression.
Relatedly, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has sued the National Assembly at the Federal High Court, Lagos, for alleged breach of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described as “cheap politics and trivialising of a serious issue” the claim by Akpabio that the call on him to ensure transparency in the probe of the accusation against him by Akpoti-Uduaghan was an attempt to remove a Niger Deltan from office.
Meanwhile, the widow of the late Ondo State governor, Dr Betsy Anyanwu-Akeredolu, urged women to be more courageous, lauding the boldness of the Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The Senate, last week, suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, after she reportedly “spoke without permission” and “refused her new seat in the upper legislative chamber.” Her salary and allowances may not be paid for the duration of the suspension and she was banned from presenting herself as a senator.
In an open letter signed by the Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, at the weekend, SERAP said no one should ever be punished for ‘speaking without permission,’ adding that being a senator does not deprive Akpoti-Uduaghan of her fundamental human rights. SERAP said: “The Senate should be setting an example by upholding the rule of law and promoting fundamental human rights, not stamping them out.”
The organisation urged the Senate to immediately reinstate Akpoti-Uduaghan, and revise parliamentary procedures that unduly restrict senators’ human rights within 48 hours of the receipt and/or publication of this letter or face legal action.
According to SERAP, punishing Akpoti-Uduaghan solely for peacefully expressing herself is unlawful, unnecessary and disproportionate, adding: “Her suspension would also have a disproportionate chilling effect on the ability of other members of the Senate to freely express themselves and exercise their human rights.”
HEDA’S suit, FHC/L/CS/286/25, filed by Fumilayo Falana (SAN), seeks the court’s interpretation of Sections 88(1) and (2) of the Constitution.
According to HEDA Resource Centre, the National Assembly has been summoning private persons and representatives of private corporate bodies to appear before its committees without due process, which is a breach of the Constitution.
The plaintiff argues that the National Assembly’s investigative powers are not at large and are subject to the provisions of the Constitution. In the originating summons, the group asked the court whether, under Section 88(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the defendants are competent to direct an investigation into any matter without a resolution published in its journal or the official gazette of the government of the federation.
The group wants an order of perpetual injunction from the court restraining the defendants from inviting private persons and representatives of private corporate bodies to appear before them or their committees while conducting any investigation.
In a nine-paragraph affidavit, HEDA’s Communication Officer, Nurudeen Salako, said the plaintiff had over the years observed the incessant invitation of private persons and representatives of corporate bodies to appear before the 1st and 2nd defendants in the course of conducting any investigation.
He lamented that such actions were outside the powers and functions as conferred by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
SARAKI, in a statement signed by the Head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, urged Akpabio to read his press statement dated March 1, 2025, well to understand that there was nowhere he suggested the resignation of the Senate President.
He stated: “Rather, he advised that Akpabio should act in the best interest of the legislative institution by ensuring that no reasonable person is left with any doubt that the allegations raised by the Kogi senator were investigated and justifiably dispensed with.
“The attention of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office has been drawn to the statement by Akpabio while addressing the leaders of some ethnic youth groups on Friday that certain individuals from Kwara and Adamawa states wanted him removed because he is from the Niger Delta region.”
Saraki, he added, would ordinarily have ignored the statement as a sign of the times, but for its underlying motive of politicising and trivialising a serious issue that threatens the integrity, credibility and importance of the legislature. “We think we should not allow the Senate President to create a misleading impression of the issue at stake in the all-important institution that the National Assembly represents in our democracy.
“Saraki, in his last comment on the Akpabio-Natasha crisis never called on the Senate President to resign or step aside. Rather, he urged the Senate President to be conscious that perception is reality and, therefore, avoid treating the allegations by the senator in a manner that will create the perception that the Senate as an institution is trying to cover up issues bordering on sexual harassment, gender discrimination and abuse of office,” he said.
ANYANWU-AKEREDOLU, at an event to mark the 2025 International Women’s Day (IWD) in Ibadan, the Oyo State, with the theme, ‘Accelerated Action’, emphasised the need to elect more courageous women into both the state and national legislatures.
The former Ondo first lady, who is the Founder, BEMORE Empowered Girls Foundation, said the recent happenings at the National Assembly caused her displeasure and pain because one of the only four women in the Senate was suspended.
“That Sen Akpoti-Uduaghan is a woman and icing it with courage, her Kogi Central constituency has been enlarged to include all Nigerian women. I say this because, to a Nigerian man, a woman is a woman, regardless of her profile or social status.
“As young women become more educated and with the right career choices made to attain financial stability, the future may likely become brighter. So, let us get to work now,” Anyanwu-Akeredolu said.
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