Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, has strongly criticized the handling of the recent altercation between Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan over the change of her seat in the Senate. In a statement released on Sunday night, Okutepa questioned the legality, fairness, and motive behind the Senate President’s decision and subsequent actions.
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The controversy arose following the relocation of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan’s seat without prior notification. While another learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN, opined that the Senate President has the right to change the seat of any senator and that Akpoti Uduaghan should not have protested, Okutepa disagreed, stating that the senator had every right to demand explanations and challenge any unfair treatment.
Okutepa argued that Ubani’s position failed to consider Akpoti Uduaghan’s right to be informed of the reason behind the seat change. He questioned the rationale behind the decision, emphasizing that even if the Senate has the authority to reassign seats, the senators must be given reasons for such changes.
“Why was the seat of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan changed? Even if the Senate has the right to change seats of senators, are the senators not entitled to be told and given reasons for the change? Was Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan not entitled to be told why her seat was changed? Sometimes, we dignify an otherwise illegitimate and arrogant interference with rights under the pretense of enforcing rules,” Okutepa stated.
He further highlighted the superiority of constitutional rights over Senate rules, noting that the right to fair hearing should take precedence. According to him, Akpoti Uduaghan had already acquired a right to the seat initially assigned to her, and any alteration required proper communication. Her protest against the decision was justified, and the manner in which she was treated was unacceptable.
“With profound respect to Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN, his arguments that the Senate President has the right to change the seat overlooked a very serious and more fundamental right of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan to be told the reason for the change and her equal right to protest the unjust change if she felt so. To shout her down and threaten her with suspension not only infringed on her constitutional right to be heard, but it was also unfair. It cannot be part of the Senate rules to treat her as a senatorial effigy to be moved at will,” he stated.
Okutepa expressed concern over what he termed as a pattern of enforcing self-serving rules instead of upholding constitutional provisions. He condemned the order to have the sergeant-at-arms remove Akpoti Uduaghan from the Senate for protesting, describing it as “a despotic and authoritarian display of self-help in breach of constitutional rights.”
He further raised pertinent questions about the Senate’s adherence to constitutional provisions, citing instances of senators defecting from their political parties despite no divisions existing within those parties, which is a clear violation of the Nigerian Constitution. Okutepa questioned why the Senate President had failed to declare their seats vacant, as constitutionally required.
“Is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria even obeying the Nigerian Constitution? There are senators who came to the National Assembly on the platforms of political parties that sponsored their selections or elections. Today, those senators have cross-carpeted to other political parties even though there are no divisions in the political parties upon which they rode to the Senate in breach of the Nigerian Constitution. Has the Senate President declared their seats vacant as he is under constitutional duty to do?” he asked.
The Senior Advocate also criticized the Senate’s approach to confirming executive appointments, labeling it as a “cosmetic ritual of political jests,” where nominees are simply asked to “take a bow and go” without any serious scrutiny.
Echoing the sentiments of a colleague, he mocked the alleged inconsistency in upholding Senate rules, questioning why rules were being strictly applied in a seat change scenario while constitutional violations went unaddressed.
“Which useless standing rules are you talking about? How can there be standing rules for people who violated all known sensible standing rules and the law by rigging elections to get themselves into the Senate? People who violate the Constitution every day by defecting from one party to the other without any consequences? So, it is an ordinary sitting arrangement that has now turned into standing rules that must be followed? Mtcheeew!!!” he quoted.
Okutepa asserted that Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan must be allowed to sit in her rightful seat and continue representing the people of Kogi State. He warned against any attempts to harass or intimidate her, stressing that Nigerians who appreciate her outstanding performance in the Senate would resist any such moves.
He concluded by urging the Senate to focus on more pressing governance issues rather than engaging in unnecessary conflicts over sitting arrangements. According to him, the Senate should prioritize making laws for peace, order, and good governance, rather than quarreling and threatening senators with suspension over trivial matters.
“Nigerians are not as dull as some in power think. Nigerians know those who violated the Nigerian Constitution to be in positions of responsibility in this country. The silence or patience of Nigerians should not be taken for granted. Enough of these nonsensical demonstrations of political pettiness,” he warned.
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