KEY POINTS
- Ireti Kingibe says she never saw the report behind Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
- She says she left for a tax reform retreat she considered more important to her constituents.
- She says she complained bitterly to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe about not seeing the report.
The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory in the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she never saw the report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Kingibe made the disclosure on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television’s “Prime Time.”
A senator left out of the loop
According to Kingibe, she was attending a retreat with Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole when she first heard about the report. She said she belongs to the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, but she stepped away before the panel concluded its work on the matter.
“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat and I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee,” she said. Moreover, she explained that she signed the committee’s attendance register before she left. “We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time,” she added.
Constituents over committee duty
Furthermore, Kingibe argued that the tax reform retreat mattered more to the people she represents than the disciplinary process. “It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it,” she said.
In addition, the senator said she raised her concerns directly with a colleague. According to her, she complained to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe that the report never reached her. “I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report, while I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.
Consequently, Kingibe’s account adds to the controversy surrounding the suspension, which has drawn competing claims among senators. Although she did not contest the decision itself, she stressed that she could not vouch for a document she never read. Ultimately, her comments underscore lingering questions over how the chamber handled the petition that triggered the action against Akpoti-Uduaghan, and they keep the spotlight on the transparency of the Senate’s internal disciplinary process.