A former minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has criticised the Nigerian Senate over what she described as the unconstitutional extension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
In a statement titled: “A Memo to the Nigerian Senate, Judiciary and Fellow Citizens,” issued to journalists Thursday in Abuja, Ezekwesili condemned the Senate’s decision to extend the lawmaker’s suspension indefinitely, despite a Federal High Court ruling declaring the initial six-month punishment “excessive and unconstitutional.”
She recalled that Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, was suspended on March 6, 2025, after she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.
Rather than investigate the allegation transparently, Ezekwesili argued, the Senate turned its machinery against the lawmaker — a move she described as “an unprecedented assault on constitutional principles, judicial authority, and the very foundations of our democratic institutions.”
Her criticism follows a September 4, 2025, letter from the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly, informing Akpoti-Uduaghan that her suspension would remain in place indefinitely, pending the outcome of her appeal in court. For the former minister, that letter amounts to a constitutional crisis.
“The Senate justifies this illegality with the preposterous claim that the matter remains sub judice. That reasoning is fundamentally flawed. They cannot use pending litigation as justification to prolong an unconstitutional suspension,” she said.
Ezekwesili pointed out that the Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Binta Nyako, had earlier ruled that the six-month suspension was excessive and violated the Constitution.
She stressed that excluding a lawmaker from the Senate for six months — when the National Assembly sits for only 181 days in a year — effectively disenfranchises her constituents.
She further argued that the Senate’s action violates its own internal rules, which allow for suspensions of no more than 14 days under Order 67(4).
She reminded Nigerians that court rulings in 2017 and 2018 had already declared long-term suspensions of lawmakers unconstitutional, yet the Senate continues to act with impunity.
“The numbers tell a stark story,” she noted. “181 sitting days in a year. Six months and counting of suspension. That means Kogi Central constituents have been denied over 100% of their right to representation.”
Ezekwesili warned that judicial inconsistencies have emboldened the legislature to disregard the law.
She called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to act swiftly and bring the case to a close, stressing that the credibility of the judiciary is on the line.
“The fastest conclusion of the Akpoti-Uduaghan case is imperative for the courts to prove to Nigerians that they are not complicit in undermining the rule of law,” she added.
