Kingibe Denies Endorsing Akpoti-Uduaghan Suspension

Senator Ireti Kingibe

Kingibe Denies Endorsing Akpoti-Uduaghan Suspension

Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the Senate, has firmly denied endorsing the committee report that recommended the suspension of Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. The FCT senator insists she neither saw nor reviewed the document before it was submitted, raising questions about Senate procedures and the transparency of the disciplinary process. Kingibe made the disclosure on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, where she addressed growing concerns surrounding the controversial suspension. According to the lawmaker, she was not present when the report was handled and had no opportunity to review its contents before the decision was taken, adding that she believes the entire process could have been handled differently.

Speaking during the interview, Kingibe explained that she attended the committee meeting briefly before leaving for a tax reform retreat, which she considered more important because of its direct impact on her constituents. “I did tell everybody that I was not there. I wasn’t there. I was in the retreat with him. He came to meet me there, and when I heard about the report, I said, ‘But we were here,'” she stated. According to the FCT senator, she and three or four other senators on the Committee of Petitions, Public Complaints and Petitions signed the attendance register, but she left to attend the tax reform retreat. “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. 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 explained.

While acknowledging that a photocopy of her signature appeared on the document recommending Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension, Kingibe maintained that she did not sign the report itself. “I even complained to other senators, specifically Senator Barau; I complained to him very bitterly that I have not seen that report. I didn’t see it then; I have not seen it till now,” she said. She also mentioned that she complained to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe over the matter. “I couldn’t have endorsed the committee report; I didn’t see it,” she insisted. The FCT senator clarified that she has never accused anyone of forging her signature, stating emphatically: “But I did not say anybody forged my signature.”

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The senator questioned the Senate’s procedural practices, arguing that lawmakers should be allowed to review committee reports thoroughly before signing them. “The truth of the matter is there are many, many things that I feel should not be the way they are. Number one, I feel that we should be given reports to read when they are ready, and then we sign them. Not that the reports are written and then they’re just… sometimes we’re just given to sign,” she explained. “It is unlikely that I signed without being aware that was what I was signing. We’re supposed to read the report to then sign it. A photocopy of my signature is on it,” she insisted, questioning how her signature could have appeared on a document she had never seen.

While discussing the broader controversy surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension, Kingibe noted that disciplinary issues within the Senate are often resolved through apologies, suggesting the dispute could have been settled much earlier. “It can definitely be improved on. And truly, before now, every senator that has had a problem has been suspended for three months. But by the same token, every time any senator is out of order, being out of order ends as soon as you say, ‘Distinguished colleagues, I apologize for being out of order,'” she said. Kingibe cited instances where she herself had apologized after throwing a “tantrum” and noted that Senator Ndume does the same regularly without facing suspension because they promptly apologize when they realize they have contravened Senate rules. “It took as long as it did because it was absolutely unnecessary. Senator Natasha could have apologised,” she added, suggesting that a simple apology could have averted the entire controversy.

The controversy deepened earlier when Senator Adams Oshiomhole alleged that the names of at least three senators were improperly included on the Senate Committee report that recommended Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension. Speaking during an interview on Africa Independent Television (AIT), Oshiomhole cited Senator Kingibe as one of the lawmakers whose name was allegedly misused. “The committee does a hearing; members are expected to sign the report to endorse it. If you don’t agree, you can abstain. But some said they didn’t sign, yet their names were published. People like Senator Ireti Kingibe. She told me, ‘But I didn’t sign that report. But my name was published,'” Oshiomhole said. However, Oshiomhole later backtracked on his forgery allegations, clarifying that his remarks were misrepresented. In a statement, he said: “The insinuation that I said signatures of senators were forged is a complete misrepresentation of what I actually said.” He explained that he never claimed any lawmaker’s signature was forged, but was merely referencing a comment made by a member of the committee.

In response to the allegations, Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu dismissed Oshiomhole’s claims, insisting that no signatures were forged. Adaramodu, who was a member of the Ethics and Public Petitions Committee that investigated the matter, maintained that senators are mature and independent-minded individuals who would raise objections on the floor of the Senate if their rights were violated. “That is not true. Signatures forged, over what?” Adaramodu queried. He added that if Senator Kingibe had any concerns about procedure, she would have raised them on the floor of the Senate, not to an individual. “Nobody will say that he or she was coerced or somebody’s signature was forged; that has never happened in the Senate and it cannot happen. It has never happened,” he stated. Adaramodu confirmed that the Senate leadership would examine Oshiomhole’s comments and take an official position after reviewing the claims.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended in March 2025 for six months following allegations of gross misconduct and unruly behavior during a dispute with Senate President Godswill Akpabio regarding sitting arrangements in the chamber. The Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions recommended the suspension after Akpoti-Uduaghan protested the reallocation of her seat in the Senate chamber. The committee recommended that Akpoti-Uduaghan submit a written apology before the Senate could consider lifting or reducing her suspension. Her office was ordered locked, her salaries and allowances suspended, and her security details withdrawn for the duration of the suspension, marking one of the harshest disciplinary actions taken against a senator in recent years.