It was a scene straight out of a political thriller at the National Assembly on Monday as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) sparked uproar over her alleged exclusion from the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC).
The outspoken lawmaker reportedly arrived at the committee meeting fully prepared for deliberations, only to discover her name was missing from the official list of invited members.
Believing it could be an oversight, Natasha first approached the Committee Clerk for clarification.
She was told the Clerk was with the Committee Chairman, Senator Titus Tartenger Zam.
Determined to get answers, she marched to Zam’s office alongside some of her aides.
A heated altercation reportedly broke out between aides attached to the chairman and members of Natasha’s team, an incident partly captured on video and now making the rounds.
Speaking after the confrontation, the senator revealed that when she reached the chairman, he claimed his actions were based on instructions “from higher authorities”, without giving further details.
Fuming over the development, she described it as “part of a recurring pattern of marginalisation,” insisting that every senator is constitutionally equal in authority and mandate.
She also questioned the procedural and constitutional grounds for excluding her from a committee whose work directly impacts the North Central zone she represents.
Giving more details about the clash, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that “tensions escalated when aides attached to the Committee Chairman confronted her media team.”
She further disclosed that “approximately six aides, including the chairman’s secretary, seized her cinematographer’s phone and engaged in verbal hostility, a development she described as unacceptable.”
Despite the explosive showdown, Natasha reaffirmed her commitment to fairness and institutional integrity, vowing to keep defending her legislative rights and the mandate of Kogi Central constituents.
As of press time, Senator Zam had yet to respond to the allegations.
