By Eshioromeh Sebastian
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, has issued a formal disclaimer clarifying that he never alleged signatures were forged in the report that recommended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension .
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Edo North Senator described as a “complete misrepresentation” the insinuation that he claimed Senators’ signatures were forged during the Ethics Committee proceedings that led to the Kogi Central lawmaker’s six-month suspension in March 2025 .
The clarification comes after Oshiomhole’s Monday night interview on AIT’s “Politics Today” programme, where he had commented on Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele’s description of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension as one of the “lowest moments” of the 10th Senate.
Oshiomhole stated that he fully agrees with Senate Spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu that no Senator’s signature was forged in the matter, noting that no Senator had complained to him personally about signature forgery .
The former Edo State governor explained that his actual comment was that one Senator, who is a member of the Committee, “claimed” that the signatures of attendance of some Senators were attached to the final report .
“I emphasised that no Senator told me that his or her signature was forged,” Oshiomhole said in the statement .
He added: “As far as I am concerned, the issue of suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been put to rest and the Senate has since moved on”.
Oshiomhole explained that his comments came in response to the AIT interviewer’s claim that Senate Leader Bamidele Opeyemi referred to the matter as the “lowest point of the 3 years of the 10th Senate”.
He replied: “If indeed the Senate Leader said so, yes it should be taken seriously, because he is not given to frivolities”.
Senate Spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu had earlier dismissed any suggestion of forgery, stating: “That is not true. Signatures forged, over what?”.
Adaramodu, who was a member of the Ethics and Public Petitions Committee that handled the matter, insisted no Senator had raised formal complaints on the floor of the Senate.
“If Senator Kingibe had anything against any procedure, she would report it on the floor of the Senate, not to an individual,” Adaramodu said.
He described the allegations as “very strange,” adding that Senators are “independent-minded people” who would speak up if their rights were violated.
When asked whether the Senate would sanction Oshiomhole over the comments, Adaramodu said the chamber would review the remarks before taking a position.
“We are going to review any statements made by him. The Senate will take a cursory look at either extraneous, spontaneous or intentional comments from any senator appropriately,” Adaramodu stated.
Oshiomhole concluded his disclaimer by expressing regret if his comments caused embarrassment to any Senator or the 10th Senate as an institution.
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