By, Theophilus Chibuzo Oliver.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Monday, 17 February, via her social media page, accused the Senate of marginalisation for failing to notify her of a meeting of the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC) concerning its budget proposal and deliberations, under which her constituency falls.
According to the senator, “I became aware of the meeting barely twenty minutes before it ended.” She stated that by the time she arrived at the National Assembly complex, members of the NCDC management were already exiting the Senate complex. She immediately proceeded to Room 431 in an effort to participate in what remained of the session but was informed by four committee staff members that the meeting had ended.
She therefore demanded to know why she had been excluded from the meeting despite being a senator representing the North Central zone. She was told that it was likely an “oversight” by the committee clerk.
However, upon checking the register, she discovered that her name was not listed among the senators representing the North Central zone. She maintained that it was not merely an oversight but rather “a deliberate omission of record”.
Following this, she proceeded to the Chairman’s office to seek clarification. In the presence of three other individuals, she confronted what she described as a deliberate attempt to sideline her and, by extension, the people of Kogi Central from a pivotal budgetary process directly affecting her district.
She stated conclusively that she raised the concerns: “I was not notified”, “I was not invited”, “My name was excluded from the committee register”, and “I was not added to the Senate’s NCDC communication platform where official information was shared.”