The Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Monday alleged that her name was omitted from the attendance register of the Senate Committee on the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC).
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the committee, chaired by Titus Zam (APC-Benue), had earlier held a budget defence session with the NCDC management.
Sources told NAN that Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly arrived at the venue only to discover that the session had already concluded. When she and her aides attempted to meet with the committee chairman in his office, they were allegedly denied access.
The situation reportedly escalated when Zam’s secretary seized the phone of one of the senator’s cinematographers.
Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed concern over what she described as repeated attempts by colleagues to undermine her legislative work.
“I will not watch you people treat me anyhow,” she said, without providing further details.
The senator characterised the incident as part of a recurring pattern of marginalisation within the upper legislative chamber. During the confrontation, another lawmaker reportedly intervened in Zam’s office in an effort to calm tensions.
NAN also reports that the incident follows a similar heated exchange last week between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Patrick Ndubueze, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Steel Development, during a budget defence session.
