THE Senate has said that it cannot reinstate Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan until it considers the contents of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the court judgement in the case involving her and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sen. Yemi Adaramodu, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.
Our correspondent reports that the senate had, on March 6, suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months amid the sexual harassment allegation she had made against Akpabio.
The suspension came after a recommendation from the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions, as presented by the Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Neda Imasuen (APC-Edo South).
As part of the suspension, the senator’s salary and security details were withdrawn, while she was barred from accessing the National Assembly premises.
She later took the matter to a Federal High Court, Abuja Division, where the presiding judge, Justice Binta Nyako, last week ordered the senate to recall her from suspension.
The court, however, sanctioned Akpoti-Uduaghan for contempt and ordered her to pay N5 million fine.
Adaramodu, who is the senate spokesperson, said that the upper legislative chamber had applied for the CTC, stressing that until the document was received and studied, the senate could not take a position on the matter.
“The senate had applied for the CTC since Monday. We expect to get the document, and once we get it, we are going to comply with the content of the court order. But first, the senate will sit and consider the contents of the CTC and when we look at the contents, then we shall take a position,’’ he said.
