The Senate has unanimously voted to refer Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, for disciplinary review, following a standoff over seating arrangements during plenary a week ago.
The committee, chaired by Senator Neda Imaseun, was given two weeks to report back on its findings.
This followed a voice vote after lawmakers revisited the controversy surrounding the issue on Tuesday, with lawmakers emphasising the need to uphold parliamentary rules and decorum.
Raising a motion under Senate Orders 1(b) and 10, Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu condemned what he described as Akpoti-Uduaghan’s “extreme intransigence” during the February 20 plenary session.
He urged the Senate leadership to enforce discipline, warning that “Where there is sin, there must be a penalty.”
Weighing in, the Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, supported Adaramodu, reaffirming the Senate’s commitment to its rules and internal order.
“There is no one who does not have an opinion on this issue, but we are unified by our rules. Under our watch, we will not allow this institution to be discredited beyond what we inherited. Integrity is non-negotiable,” he said
Responding, the Senate President directed the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to review the entire incident and report back to the chamber.
He recalled that the Senate rules allow members to sit anywhere, but contributions must be made from their designated seats.
While suggesting that unfamiliarity with Senate procedures may have contributed to the altercation, Akpabio stated that “the first day she was sworn in, she stood up to contribute, and I was worried if she had even read the rule book. There is nothing wrong with being vibrant, but everything wrong with disobeying procedure.”
Citing Order 66(2) and Section 55 of Senate rules, the Senate President reiterated that all senators must conduct themselves with decorum, including prohibitions on chewing gum, drinking water or being disruptive during sittings.
He said: “The rules empower the Senate President to suspend a senator for infractions for at least 14 days. It’s not me who made the rules, it’s in the rule book.”
Akpabio also said lawmakers who reclaimed their electoral mandate through the courts are part of the problem of the upper legislative chamber.
He described the altercation with Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan as stemming from a lack of understanding of senate guidelines and directed the national assembly management to organise periodic orientation for senators.
“I think part of the problem is when people come from court… court-declared senators; they missed the orientation,” the senate president said.
He, therefore, urged the management of the National Assembly to carry out periodic orientation for lawmakers, saying: “The management of the national assembly is hereby ordered to organise periodic orientation, particularly for senators who are midstreamers, who came midstream and did not start when their colleagues started.”
