{"id":7197,"date":"2025-09-16T06:44:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T06:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=7197"},"modified":"2025-09-16T06:44:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T06:44:34","slug":"senator-natasha-vs-senate-i-am-not-in-position-to-facilitate-her-resumption-nass-clerk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/16\/senator-natasha-vs-senate-i-am-not-in-position-to-facilitate-her-resumption-nass-clerk\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Natasha vs Senate: I am not in position to facilitate her resumption-NASS Clerk\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">By George Mgbeleke<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Contrary to insinuations in some quarters that the National Assembly Clerk has barred suspended Senator Natasha<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Akpoti-Uduaghan from resumption of her duties in the Senate, the CNA has dismissed such allegation, saying that his job is purely administrative.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">In a statement\u00a0 issued by the Director, Information<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">for: Clerk to the National Assembly, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, tagged &#8220;Suspension and<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Attempted<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Resumption of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan,&#8221; its says,&#8221;The attention of the Office of the Clerk to the National Assembly has been drawn to widespread media reports and public commentary conceming the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, her attempt to resume legislative duties, and the subsequent correspondence from her legal representatives, M. J. Numa &amp; Partners LLP..&#8221;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The statement further reads in part,&#8221;In light of these developments, it is necessary to clarify the role of the Clerk to the National Assembly on this matter.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The Clerk&#8217;s Office serves strictly as an administrative arm, providing support to the Senate in accordance with their resolutions, Standing Orders and the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended). The Clerk does not possess the authority to review, reverse or interpret Senate decisions.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;On the 6th March, 2025, the Senate passed a resolution suspen ling Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8221; Though the matter was challenged in Court, the Federal High Court did not invalidate the Senate&#8217;s resolution, and no binding order has been issued to reverse or modify the suspension.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">On the 4th September, 2025, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan communicated her intention to resume legislative functions to the office of the Clerk to the National Assembly, though she has the option of writing the Senate President, which is in line with the established protocol.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8221; In response, this office conveyed same to the Senate leadership, who noted that the matter remains before the Court of Appeal (subjudice), and that any change in status must either comc from a fresh Senate resolution or a definitive court order. &#8220;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Continuing the statement noted,&#8221;This communication was what the Clerk to the National Assembly conveyed in the letter, no more, no less. The Clerk is therefore not in a position to facilitate her resumption at this time.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;To our dismay, the Office of the Clerk received a letter from the Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan&#8217;s legal representatives (M. J. Numa &amp; Partners LI.P,), accusing this office of overreach and threatening legal and disciplinary action. While the office respects the right of all parties to seek legal redress, it must be stressed that the Clerk has at all times acted within lawful administrative limits, and in faithful observance of due process.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;It must be emphasized that the determination of whether Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan can resume her legislative duties as of right without any further or fresh resolution of the Senate following the expiration of her six months suspension lies solely with the Senate and not with the office of the Clerk to the National Assembly.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">&#8220;The Office of the Clerk remains guided by the principles of constitutionalism, institutional respect and the rule of law. The public is urged to remain patient and allow the appropriate\u00a0 the courts &#8211; to discharge their constitutional responsibilities.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By George Mgbeleke Contrary to insinuations in some quarters that the National Assembly Clerk has barred suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resumption of her duties in the Senate, the CNA has dismissed such allegation, saying that his job is purely administrative. In a statement\u00a0 issued by the Director, Information for: Clerk to the National Assembly, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4579,1254,1984,4580,108],"class_list":["post-7197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-constitutionalism","tag-determination","tag-principles","tag-responsibilities-constitutionalism","tag-suspension"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7198,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7197\/revisions\/7198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}