The Nigerian Senate has refuted claims made by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan about an alleged plan to arrest her upon her return from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) event in New York.
In a press statement issued on Monday, Senate Spokesman Adeyemi Adaramodu dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations, stating that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Senate have no interest in engaging with her on the matter.
“She’s searching for her lost content creation needle in a haystack,” Adaramodu remarked, downplaying the senator’s claims.
“The Senate President and the Nigerian Senate have no reason to engage with her anymore.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan had alleged plans to arrest her upon arrival in Abuja, asserting that Senate President Akpabio had sent staff to “evacuate” her from the UN premises.
She also maintained that her participation in the IPU event was legitimate despite her suspension.
In response, Adaramodu suggested that Akpoti-Uduaghan was troubled by her actions at the IPU.
“If she’s being haunted by her unguarded statements against Nigeria at the IPU in faraway New York, she should spare the Senate, which is not ready to be her accomplice in such a sordid journey,” he stated.
Speaking in an interview with an online newspaper on Sunday, Akpoti-Uduaghan explained her presence at the UN IPU event, claiming she registered online for the meeting.
She alleged that upon her arrival in Abuja, there were plans to arrest her, adding that three staff members, led by the Chargé D’Affaires of the Nigerian embassy in New York, were sent by Akpabio to evacuate her from the United Nations premises following her speech.
According to her, she was eventually rescued by parliamentarians from other countries and security personnel.
