Senate displaces Natasha as diaspora committee chairman, names replacement

The Senate has displaced the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, from her current position as Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora.

At the same time, the upper legislative chamber named Senator Aniekan Bassey, who represents Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District, as her replacement.

Senator Bassey is expected to assume duties immediately.

The decision was announced during plenary on Thursday, July 10, 2025, with no official reason given for the reshuffling.

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Senator Natasha was appointed chair of the Diaspora and NGOs Committee on February 4, 2025, following her earlier removal as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content.

The latest redeployment marks another slight reshuffling within the Senate committee leadership.

This development comes as the Kogi lawmaker is expected to resume her seat in the Senate after the court nullified her six-month suspension imposed on her following a spat with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Delivering judgment on Friday, July 4, Justice Binta Nyako condemned the length of the suspension, describing the punitive measure as “excessive.”

The court also noted the suspension effectively denied the senator her constitutional role for nearly an entire legislative session.

“Lawmakers are required to sit for 181 days per session. Suspending a senator for six months amounts to stripping her constituents of representation,” Nyako noted.

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The court also declared that Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Rules and Section 14 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act were “overreaching” and failed to specify a limit for suspending lawmakers, making the action against Akpoti-Uduaghan legally unsound.