Suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has reacted to her attendance at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York without the nomination of the Senate.
The embattled senator told Premium Times after a report that intelligence agencies were investigating her participation at the meeting following a petition from the Senate.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan explained that she put forward her registration online and obtained the nod to attend the meeting as a former participant who is also on the IPU’s mailing list.
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She also disclosed that the funding for the trip was personally borne by her, saying that she bought her tickets and funded the trip.
She maintained that her suspension by the Senate does not remove her legitimacy as a Senator.
“I registered online as a senator. The suspension does not remove my legitimacy as a senator. I registered online and got a pass.
“I attended the same programme last year and was already on the mailing list. After I got a pass, I bought my own ticket and funded my trip and participation at the event,” she said.
She explained that her past participation in a meeting organised by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) played a role in her accreditation.
The suspended lawmaker stressed that IPU events are not exclusively reserved for government officials, adding that accredited individuals and civil society organisations are also free to attend such events.
Maintaining that her suspension from the Senate was illegal, Natasha insisted that the sanction did not strip her of her legitimacy as an elected senator.
She added that she attended the IPU meeting in her official capacity and spoke as a legitimate representative of her constituents.
