The lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has provided a detailed account of how she successfully attended the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York, despite not being officially nominated by the Nigerian government.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Premium Times on Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan revealed that she registered online as a senator, leveraging her previous participation in IPU meetings to secure accreditation.
“I registered online as a senator. The suspension does not remove my legitimacy as a senator. I attended the same programme last year and was already on the mailing list. After I got a pass, I bought my own ticket and funded my trip and participation at the event,” she stated.
The senator explained that she personally financed her trip to the parliamentary event, after receiving approval to attend.
This is not her first appearance at an IPU event. She previously accompanied Senate President Godswill Akpabio to the 148th IPU General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2024, as part of Nigeria’s official delegation.
During the assembly, Akpabio called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages, emphasizing the need for humanitarian aid access in war-affected regions.
Clarifying how she gained access to the recent New York IPU meeting, Akpoti-Uduaghan disclosed that her past participation in meetings organized by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) played a key role.
She also emphasized that IPU events are not exclusive to government officials, as civil society organizations and individuals can attend as well.
She further noted that she traveled using a visa on her ordinary Nigerian passport, and not an official government passport.
Akpoti-Uduaghan dismissed her six-month suspension from the Senate as illegal, insisting that it does not strip her of her legitimacy as an elected senator.
However, her suspension explicitly prohibits her from identifying herself as a senator, both within Nigeria and internationally, during the period of the suspension.
Despite these restrictions, she attended the IPU meeting in her official capacity, maintaining that she remains the legitimate representative of her constituents.
During the interview, Akpoti-Uduaghan raised allegations of a plot to arrest her upon her return to Nigeria.
“I’m aware there are plans underway to have me arrested as soon as I arrive in Abuja,” she alleged.
She further accused Senate President Akpabio of attempting to have her forcefully removed from the UN premises in New York after she delivered her speech at the event.
“The Senate President sent three staff, headed by the Chargé D’Affaires of the Nigerian embassy in New York, to evacuate me from the United Nations premises right after my speech. I was rescued by parliamentarians from other countries and the security,” she claimed.
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