After completing the six months suspension imposed on her by the Senate, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday condemned the attempt by the Clerk of the National Assembly to bar Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming at the upper chamber.
In a statement made available to Blueprint in Abuja, the party described the reported action by the clerk, saying it smacked of a calculated attempt to abridge the right of representation of the people of Kogi Central and denying them a voice at the highest law-making body in the country.
“The attempt to use the National Assembly establishment against an elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in gross violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 (as amended) and the Standing Rules of the Senate is highly provocative and constitutes a clear and present danger to democracy and overall stability of our country,” the statement reads.
In the statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Hon Debo Ologunagba, the party noted that the new development came as part of the antics being deployed by the APC-controlled Senate to suffocate the opposition.
It reads: “The reported action by the Clerk of the National Assembly against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan further brings to the fore the allegations of attacks on the right of women and sustained attempts to stifle their voices.
“The PDP demands that the Senate President should come clean on the various allegations instead of seeking to use the National Assembly establishment to further harass, intimidate, and keep Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan away from the Senate.”