Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan blocked the entrance to the office of a fellow senator at the National Assembly, protesting her alleged denial from attending the budget defence session held for the North-Central Development Commission.
Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Monday blocked the entrance to the office of a fellow senator at the National Assembly, protesting her alleged denial from attending a meeting she is a member of.
The meeting in question was the budget defence session of the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC). The commission's management had appeared before the Senate Committee on the NCDC, chaired by the senator representing Benue North-West, Titus Zam.
The commission covers the six states in the North-central geographical zone: Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Niger, Kwara, and Nasarawa.
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The budget defence, which began at about 10 a.m., was concluded before 11 a.m., with the committee chairman and other members expressing satisfaction with the commission's budget proposal for the year.
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan arrived at the committee meeting room shortly after the session had ended. Apparently angered by the development, she proceeded to Mr Zam's office to lodge a complaint.
She was initially denied access to the chairman, because she was speaking loudly within the office premises while expressing her grievances over the alleged exclusion. Although she was allowed into the secretary's office, she was prevented from entering Mr Zam's main office. Mr Zam was inside his office at the time.
The situation escalated when Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan instructed one of her aides to record the scene. One of Mr Zam's aides, whose name could not be verified, blocked her from accessing the office. In protest, she placed a chair at the entrance and insisted she would not leave until the chairman came out to address her concerns.
The drama worsened when one of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan's aides, whose name could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report, slapped Mr Zam's secretary after the secretary cautioned against making the incident viral on social media. The altercation led to a brief scuffle between aides from both sides.
The standoff lasted about 10 minutes before the senator representing Ondo Central, Adeniyi Adegbonmire, arrived at the scene to mediate. He subsequently escorted Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan to the office of Mr Zam's legislative aides, where efforts were made to calm the situation.
Previous instances
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This is the second public confrontation involving Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan in the past two weeks.
Last Wednesday, she walked out of a meeting of the Senate Committee on Mines and Steel Development following a verbal exchange with the committee chairman, Patrick Ndubueze, who represents Imo North Senatorial District.
The Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, had appeared before the committee to present his ministry's budget proposal. However, disagreement occurred towards the end of the meeting, which lasted over three hours, when Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan attempted to ask questions regarding the state of Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Last year, the Kogi senator was suspended from the upper chamber for six months for refusing to comply with a sitting arrangement during the plenary of 20 February.
