Clerk of National Assembly Denies Role in Deciding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Resumption

The Office of the Clerk to the National Assembly has dismissed claims that it holds the authority to decide whether suspended Kogi Central lawmaker, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, can return to legislative duties.

In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, the Director of Information, Mullah Bi-Allah, clarified that the Clerk’s office is purely administrative and lacks the mandate to review, interpret, or overturn decisions of the Senate.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, a first-term senator elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, was suspended on March 6, 2025, after a Senate resolution barred her from parliamentary activities for six months. Although she challenged the decision in court, the Federal High Court upheld the suspension, and the matter is now before the Court of Appeal.

On September 4, the senator wrote to the Clerk, notifying the office of her intention to resume. However, the Clerk maintained that such correspondence should be directed to the Senate President in line with parliamentary protocol. The office further relayed the Senate leadership’s position that the issue remains sub judice and any change must come either through a new Senate resolution or a definitive court order.

Reacting to a petition from Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team accusing the office of overreach, Bi-Allah reiterated that only the Senate can determine whether she may resume at the end of her suspension. He stressed that the Clerk’s office remains committed to constitutional principles, institutional respect, and the rule of law, while urging the public to allow the Senate and the courts to resolve the matter.