After serving her six-month suspension, the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is set to officially resume plenary sessions today (Tuesday), alongside other lawmakers, as the National Assembly reconvenes after an extended recess.

Her legal team, led by Victor Giwa, confirmed her readiness to return, warning the Senate leadership against any attempt to obstruct her resumption. Giwa, in an interview with The PUNCH, emphasized that Akpoti-Uduaghan has “fully served out her punishment” and remains constitutionally entitled to resume her legislative duties.

“To me, our client should just go straight and resume on Tuesday. Anything else they say is just an opinion,” Giwa stated. “As Femi Falana said, the Senate cannot become an institution that legalises illegality. You cannot muscle up the National Assembly to be at the dictates of a few persons. The National Assembly is a creation of law, and its actions must be determined by law, not by the whims of the leadership.”

The lawyer further warned that any attempt to prevent her entry would amount to “contradicting the Senate’s own resolution” and risk plunging the legislative body into “total chaos.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s office, located in Suite 2.05 of the Senate Wing, was unsealed two weeks ago by the Deputy Director of the National Assembly Sergeant-at-Arms, Alabi Adedeji, paving the way for her return. The office had been locked since March 6, 2025, following her suspension over alleged misconduct during a protest against the reassignment of her seat by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Speaking after gaining access to her office, the embattled senator maintained a defiant tone, declaring that she had “no apology to tender” for her actions.

“It is actually amazing how much we have had to pay in the past six months, from the unjust suspension to the recall. But we survived the recall, blackmail, and that crazy lady on Facebook,” she said. “In everything, sometimes it is good to push the institution to the test. We can’t cower in the face of injustice. No one is more Nigerian than us. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am.”

Describing Akpabio as a dictator, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the Senate leadership of running the National Assembly as a private fiefdom rather than a democratic institution. “He is not the governor of this place, yet he treated me as if I were a servant or domestic staff in his house. It is so unfortunate that we will have a National Assembly being run by such a dictator. It is totally unacceptable,” she declared.

Her six-month suspension, which lapsed in September, coincided with the Senate’s decision to extend its annual recess by two weeks, from September 23 to October 7,delaying deliberations on several pressing national issues.

Efforts to reach Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu and the media aide to the Senate President for official comments proved unsuccessful, as calls and messages went unanswered.

With the Red Chamber reconvening today, all attention is on the leadership of the Senate to see whether Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan will be allowed to retake her seat, or be obstructed once again, a move that could reignite debates over rule of law, internal democracy, and abuse of institutional power within Nigeria’s highest legislative chamber.