{"id":7400,"date":"2025-09-24T16:23:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T16:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/?p=7400"},"modified":"2025-09-25T03:15:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T03:15:33","slug":"senator-natasha-returns-after-six-month-suspension-insists-she-wont-apologize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/senator-natasha-returns-after-six-month-suspension-insists-she-wont-apologize\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Natasha Returns After Six-Months Suspension, Insists She Won\u2019t Apologize"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
By Our Correspondent<\/div>\n

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) has officially resumed her duties in the Senate after six months of suspension, declaring firmly that she owes no one an apology.<\/p>\n

Her statement appeared to be in reaction to a report by a national newspaper alleging that when plenary reconvenes on October 7, she would be asked to tender an apology.<\/div>\n
\n

Natasha, however, insisted she would never apologize for what she described as \u201cinjustice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quoting from the report, she said: \u201cI read that a leadership meeting was held yesterday and that the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, upon resumption on the 7th of October, would read a motion calling on me to apologize. I wonder what apology they expect from me. You can\u2019t apologize for an injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indications that the Senate leadership had softened its stance emerged Tuesday morning when the Sergeant-At-Arms unsealed her office. According to Mr. Adedeji Alabi, the officer who carried out the directive, the order came from the Senate leadership.<\/p>\n

Recalling the events that led to her suspension, Natasha said: \u201cMay I remind Nigerians that the document used for my illegal suspension, read by Senator Neda Imasuen, was actually prepared by the office of the Senate President. The attached signatures were not even willfully given\u2014it was merely a tender sheet. That makes the entire suspension document fraudulent<\/p>\n

Reflecting on her six-month ordeal, she described it as \u201cillegality upon illegality\u201d and urged Nigerians to resist such practices. \u201cIt\u2019s appalling that fraud can occur at the very heart of the National Assembly. If they expect an apology from me, I\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t have those words. If that is the condition for opening my office, then it means we have a long dance ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

She recounted the hurdles she survived during her suspension, from the recall process to blockades on roads and waterways in Kogi State, which forced her to fly in by helicopter. \u201cWe survived the suspension, the blackmail, and even smear campaigns on social media\u2014by God\u2019s grace we overcame,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Expressing gratitude, Natasha thanked her constituents, supporters across Nigeria, and especially her family. \u201cTo my husband, my love, I say I love you dearly. May all men support their wives as you have supported me. To my children, thank you for your sacrifices.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the need to defend democratic institutions, she said: \u201cSometimes it is important to put institutions to the test. We cannot be cowed by injustice. No one is more Nigerian than another. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am. He treated me as though I were his servant\u2014it is shameful that our democracy is run in such a dictatorial manner. But I am glad to be back. Despite the illegal suspension, I never stopped serving my people to the best of my ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also acknowledged the support of Oby Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu, Mama Peace, Femi Falana, PDP, ADC, Nigerian Bar Association, Nigeria Labour Congress, and many others.<\/p>\n

Looking forward, she said: \u201cThe future of Nigeria is bright. We cannot give up on our democracy. As 2027 approaches, we must ensure our actions strengthen the country. Patriotically, we have a nation to save.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Our Correspondent Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) has officially resumed her duties in the Senate after six months of suspension, declaring firmly that she owes no one an apology. Her statement appeared to be in reaction to a report by a national newspaper alleging that when plenary reconvenes on October 7, she would be […]<\/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":[2787,1896,4708,3994,2893],"class_list":["post-7400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-actions","tag-apology","tag-expect","tag-patriotically","tag-strengthen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7400","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=7400"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7421,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7400\/revisions\/7421"}],"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=7400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}