The Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Barrister Kamoru Ogunlana, has called on Nigerians to exercise patience and allow both the Senate and the courts to handle all issues surrounding the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central).
Ogunlana stressed that his office has no power to review, reverse, or interpret any resolution of the Senate. He explained that the office the Clerk to the National Assembly serves purely as an administrative arm, providing support in line with the Senate’s resolutions, Standing Orders, and the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In a statement released in Abuja by the CNA’s Director of Information, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, Ogunlana clarified that only the Senate or a competent court can determine when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan may return to legislative duties after the expiration of her six-month suspension.
The clarification comes ahead of the Senate’s resumption from recess on September 23.
The CNA’s position followed a letter from Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Michael Jonathan Numa, requesting her immediate recall.
According to the statement, the Senate had on March 6, 2025, resolved to suspend the lawmaker for six months. Though the decision was challenged in court, the Federal High Court did not set aside the Senate’s resolution, and no enforceable order has been given to reverse it.
It was further disclosed that on September 4, 2025, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan informed the Clerk of her intention to resume legislative duties. Ogunlana subsequently communicated this to the Senate leadership, which noted that the matter remains pending before the Court of Appeal and is therefore sub judice. Any change, the statement said, must come from a fresh Senate resolution or a binding court judgment.
“The Clerk is therefore not in a position to facilitate her resumption at this time,” the statement read.
Reaffirming his commitment to due process, Ogunlana stated that the Office of the Clerk would continue to uphold constitutional provisions and the rule of law. He urged the public to remain calm while the Senate and the courts carry out their constitutional duties.
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