I served as the interim president of the IPU in Geneva in 2023, and I am familiar with how the IPU operates after presiding over its proceedings.”
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Chairman of the Senate Interparliamentary Committee, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, has dismissed the petition allegedly submitted by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), stating that it holds no merit.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had informed the IPU that the Senate placed her on a 6-month suspension because she accused the Senate president of sexual harassment.
Ibrahim explained that the IPU recognises petitions from member states and not individuals, while stressing that Nigeria, as a country, is the member of the international parliamentary body, not any individual senator.
“The suspended Senator Natasha is not a member of the IPU, but Nigeria is. A petition can only be lodged against another member state by a member state,” he said.
He also pointed out that Akpoti-Uduaghan, having been suspended by the Senate, lacks the authority to represent Nigeria in any official capacity.
Reaffirming his position as the head of the Senate’s Interparliamentary Committee, Ibrahim noted that he did not grant any authorisation for her participation in the IPU.
“I served as the interim president of the IPU in Geneva in 2023, and I am familiar with how the IPU operates after presiding over its proceedings. Furthermore, as Chairman of the Interparliamentary Committee in the Nigerian Senate, I did not approve or authorise the suspended Senator Natasha to attend the IPU on behalf of Nigeria to the Senate President,” he stated.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, was suspended on March 6 following a controversial session in the Senate over change of her seat.