By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan (Kogi Central) has protested her alleged exclusion from the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission, describing it as part of a sustained pattern of marginalisation in the 10th National Assembly.
The senator said she discovered the omission when she arrived for a committee meeting but found her name missing from the official attendance list. She said she first sought clarification from the committee clerk but was told the clerk was with the committee chairman, Senator Titus Tartenger Zam.
Akpoti Uduaghan said she proceeded to Zam’s office, where tension reportedly arose during their discussion. According to her, the chairman suggested his actions were based on directives from higher authorities, though no details were provided.
“This incident is part of a recurring pattern of marginalisation. All senators are constitutionally equal in status, authority and mandate,” she said, questioning the basis for excluding her from a committee whose work affects the North Central zone.
In a statement issued in Abuja by her media aide, Mike Idoko, the senator also alleged that the matter escalated when aides attached to the chairman confronted members of her media team.
She claimed that about six aides, including the chairman’s secretary, seized her cinematographer’s phone and engaged in verbal hostility.
Akpoti Uduaghan said she would continue to demand fairness and equitable treatment within the Senate in line with the mandate of her constituents.
