A top aide to Senate President Godswill Akpabio has insisted that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan cannot resume her legislative duties without following proper procedures and offering a genuine apology to the Senate for her previous conduct.
Ken Okolugbo, communications and strategy consultant to the Senate President, made the declaration during an interview on Arise News on Sunday, dismissing claims that a recent court ruling automatically reinstated the embattled Kogi Central senator.
Okolugbo argued that the court pronouncement favoring Senator Natasha was merely an “obiter dictum” – a judicial remark made in passing without enforceable legal effect – rather than a binding ruling that would immediately restore her to the red chamber.
“She said she was going to resume last Tuesday. Now she has seen the CTC. Her lawyers have now written to say she’s resuming on Tuesday. She’s not going to be able to resume on Tuesday, there’s a process,” Okolugbo stated.
The Senate President’s aide outlined the procedural requirements that must be followed before any senator can resume duties, emphasizing that even if the court ruling were binding, Natasha’s return would still require proper clearance through established channels.
“The Senate will have to receive it through the Clerk of the National Assembly, who will now send to the Senate leadership. The Senate leadership will evaluate, take a decision, and alert the sergeants at arms. It’s a process,” he explained.
Okolugbo also criticized Senator Natasha’s decision to appeal the ₦5 million contempt fine imposed by the court, suggesting she acted prematurely without considering the possibility of a cross-appeal by the Senate. He questioned her selective approach to the legal process.
“While it is within her right to appeal the issue of contempt… why is she not even waiting for the Senate to study it and come up with their own position? You don’t cherry-pick the aspects you’re going to appeal and then expect an obiter dictum to be enforced. It’s never done in law,” he said.
The Akpabio aide further argued that Senator Natasha had failed to fulfill the court’s conditions, which included deleting her social media posts and offering a genuine apology to both the court and the Senate President. He claimed that any apology offered so far had been inadequate.
“The apology is not to the court alone. What the Senate President asked was that she should delete her Facebook post, apologise to him, and apologise to the court,” Okolugbo said.
He alleged that Natasha had posted what he described as a “satirical apology,” which was later deleted, falling short of the genuine remorse expected by the court and Senate leadership.
“You don’t apologise on the air. That apology was supposed to be to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and also to the court,” he added.
