Embattled Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has now been stripped of her last remaining leadership position within the senate.
The senate has officially removed Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi central) as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, replacing her with Sen. Aniekan Bassey (PDP, Akwa Ibom north-east).
The announcement was made by the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, during Thursday’s plenary, and the decision is to take immediate effect, according to the senate leadership.
This development marks a significant shift in the ongoing tensions between Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan and the senate. The lawmaker, who had been at the centre of months-long controversies including her suspension from the senate has now been stripped of her last remaining leadership position within the senate.
The position of chairperson of the Diaspora and NGO Committee had remained vacant for months, following her suspension in March 2025, leaving the committee largely inactive and without direction.
Parliament Reports recalls that in February 2025, the senate undertook a mid-term reshuffling of its standing committees. As part of that shake-up, Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan was removed as chair of the Committee on Local Content, a strategic portfolio critical to Nigeria’s oil and gas governance and reassigned to the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, a move widely interpreted as a demotion at the time.
READ ALSO: ‘I will never apologise for speaking my truth’ – Natasha
However, the reassignment did not yield any operational outcome, as Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended shortly afterward, following what Senate President Akpabio described as “unparliamentary conduct” linked to her public criticisms of the senate’s leadership and internal decisions.
The Diaspora and NGO Committee is responsible for interfacing with Nigerian communities abroad, overseeing diaspora-related policy interventions, and engaging with non-governmental and civil society organisations. The committee also plays an advisory role in matters relating to diaspora remittances and humanitarian affairs.
Akpoti-Uduaghan to return as floor member
With Thursday’s announcement, it is now clear that upon the completion of her suspension period, Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan will return to the senate as a floor member, without any committee leadership role.
By removing her from the committee entirely, the senate has effectively neutralised her institutional clout for the time being.
