How I attended IPU meeting – Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan 

NATASHA Akpoti-Uduaghan, Kogi Central Senator, has provided a detailed account of how she successfully attended the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York, despite not being officially nominated by the Nigerian government.

 

Akpoti-Uduaghan, explained that she registered for the meeting online as a senator and secured her accreditation because she was already on IPU’s mailing list as a past attendee, reports Realnews.

 

The senator noted that she personally funded her trip to the global parliamentary gathering after receiving approval to attend.

 

“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 told PREMIUM TIMES.

 

This is not her first attendance at an IPU event. She accompanied the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to the 148th IPU General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland in March, 2024 as part of Nigeria’s official delegation.

 

Cross-River South Senator, Ekpenyong Asuquo, and the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, were also part of the delegation.

 

During the assembly, Akpabio, called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages. He also called for access to humanitarian aid for victims of the war conflict zone.

 

Clarifying her mode of access, Akpoti-Uduaghan explained that she attended the recent IPU event through her past participation in a meeting organised by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Her presence at an IPU event in Geneva in 2024 as part of Nigeria’s delegation also helped, she said.

 

She added that the IPU event is not exclusive to government officials but also open to individuals and civil society organisations as well.

 

Akpoti-Uduaghan clarified that she travelled to New York with a visa on her ordinary Nigerian passport and not with an official passport.

 

Akpoti-Uduaghan described her suspension from the Senate as illegal, saying that did not, however, take away her legitimacy as an elected senator.

 

However, her six-month suspension explicitly prohibits her from identifying herself as a senator, both locally and internationally, during the suspension period.

 

Despite this restriction, she insisted that she attended the IPU meeting in her official capacity and spoke as a legitimate representative of her people.

 

During the interview, Akpoti-Uduaghan also alleged that plans are underway to arrest her upon her return to Nigeria. “… I’m aware there are plans underway to have me arrested as soon as I arrive in Abuja.

 

“The Senate President Akpabio sent three staff headed by the Chargè D’Affairs of the Nigerian embassy in New York to evacuate me from the United Nations premises right after my speech. I was rescued by parliamentarians from other countries and the security.”

 

The Nigerian Senate, embarrassed her action is seek to probe how she attended the meeting without being part of the official delegation from Nigeria.

 

It was reported that the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) are probing how Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, attended the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in New York without official nomination.

 

The probe seeks to uncover how she secured accreditation, who facilitated her trip, and whether her participation was orchestrated to embarrass the Nigerian government.