Reactions trailing the visit of suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti- Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) to the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York, United States, on Monday this week continued on Friday with the declaration by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo South) that the petition submitted by her was dead on arrival.
Senator Natasha had during her appearance in IPU told the members that she was suspended by the Senate in Nigeria because of the sexual harassment allegation she levelled against the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.
However, in a personally signed statement released in Abuja on Friday, Senator Ibrahim in his capacity as the chairman, Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, said Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition was dead on arrival “since the body does not deal with individuals, but countries.”
He added that the sexual harassment case presented by Senator Natasha against Senator Akpabio would not even be treated “being an issue alien to the agenda of IPU.”
The statement read in part, “Nigeria, rather than Senator Natasha, is the member of the IPU. A petition can only be lodged against another member-state by a member-state.
“This implies that the IPU cannot consider petitions from individuals who are not members. The suspended Senator Natasha is not a member of the IPU, but Nigeria is!
“Additionally, the suspended senator cannot represent the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“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 Senate Committee on Inter parliamentary Affairs, I did not approve or authorise the suspended Senator Natasha to attend the IPU on behalf of the Nigerian Senate President.
“In a nutshell, Senator Natasha’s petition or submission made at the IPU was dead on arrival.”