Ken Okolugbo, an aide to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has faulted Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for arriving at the Senate with a crowd of supporters following the lifting of her suspension.
Speaking during an interview with Channels TV, Okolugbo argued that the senator’s approach was unnecessary and potentially disruptive. “What should have naturally happened was that since the leadership of the Senate had decided that they were going to unseal her office, meaning that the six-month suspension had come to an end, it wasn’t necessary that she had to go to her office yesterday, but she insisted on going to her office yesterday,” he said.
The aide explained that proper procedures had already been followed to restore access to her office. “Even after her full secretary had taken possession and had been allowed to take inventories with the Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms and others who had unsealed the office, she chose to go with that crowd,” Okolugbo stated.
He questioned the nature of the people accompanying the senator and their behaviour at the National Assembly. “Do those crowds look like people who are not hoodlums, who are trying to fight the police, who forced their way into the first gate of the National Assembly?” he asked.
Okolugbo expressed concern about potential security breaches caused by the crowd’s actions.
The Senate President’s aide criticized the senator for what he saw as damaging the institution’s reputation. “And so it’s surprising that a distinguished senator will try to denigrate the same institution that she’s representing,” Okolugbo stated.
He argued that Senator Natasha could have resumed her duties without the dramatic display. “She could have gone to resume since her office has been opened, but without that crowd. It was unnecessary. It was more like creating content and giving a reason for social media and for the news that was very unnecessary,” he said.