{"id":76220,"date":"2025-10-07T21:34:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T21:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=76220"},"modified":"2025-10-07T21:34:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T21:34:40","slug":"senator-natasha-makes-bold-comeback-as-senate-resumes-plenary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/10\/07\/senator-natasha-makes-bold-comeback-as-senate-resumes-plenary\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Natasha Makes Bold Comeback as Senate Resumes Plenary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Adenike Lawal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Nigerian Senate reconvened on Tuesday, October 7, officially ending a ten-week legislative recess, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio presiding over a plenary session that recorded a full turnout of lawmakers, signaling a return to intense legislative activity.<\/p>\n<p>A highlight of the session was the dramatic return of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central), who rejoined her colleagues after serving a six-month suspension.<\/p>\n<p>Her comeback drew widespread attention, symbolizing political resilience and renewed determination.<\/p>\n<p>The sitting also featured a moment of international solidarity, as several senators appeared in Palestinian colours, expressing support for global calls for a free Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>In his welcome address, Senate President Akpabio urged lawmakers to rededicate themselves to service, emphasizing accountability and results-oriented governance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo the citizens of Nigeria, we hear you. You asked us not for excuses, but for results,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n<p>The National Assembly had adjourned on July 24 for its annual recess, originally set to end on September 23, but later extended by two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>During the break, committees continued oversight and report compilation to sustain legislative momentum.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan\u2019s return followed months of controversy. Suspended in March for alleged breaches of Senate rules, her case sparked outrage from civil society groups who described the sanction as politically motivated.<\/p>\n<p>Despite legal efforts and formal communication to the Senate, her reinstatement was delayed until September 23, when her office (Suite 2.05, Senate Wing) was finally unsealed.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking shortly after her reinstatement, the senator expressed relief and resolve: \u201cI am glad to be back. Even though we were unjustly suspended, not for a single day did I waver in serving the people of Kogi Central.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With plenary sessions now in full swing and Senator Natasha officially reinstated, attention shifts to how her return may shape both legislative dynamics and national discourse in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Adenike Lawal &nbsp; The Nigerian Senate reconvened on Tuesday, October 7, officially ending a ten-week legislative recess, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio presiding over a plenary session that recorded a full turnout of lawmakers, signaling a return to intense legislative activity. A highlight of the session was the dramatic return of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":76221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172,186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76222,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76220\/revisions\/76222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}