The suspended Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Udaughan, and the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Sunday Karimi, traded words on Sunday.
In a statement on Sunday, Karimi, an All Progressives Congress lawmaker, had justified Natasha’s suspension from the Senate, describing the incident leading to her suspension as embarrassing.
But in a swift reaction, Natasha said Karimi’s statement justified the need to subject lawmakers to drug tests.
Karimi, in his statement, posited that the action of the Kogi Central lawmaker had vindicated former Governor Yahaya Bello following the earlier fears he raised about her coming to the Red Chamber.
He expressed his disappointment in a press statement made available to journalists.
While recalling that she snubbed his entreaties and appeals to resolve the matter, Karimi regretted that Akpoti-Udaughan brought disgrace to Kogi State by allowing her confrontation with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio to degenerate to suspension.
According to him, Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, foresaw the current mess when he implied that her actions were unpredictable.
”All our advice to her fell on deaf ears. One can therefore not come to terms with the fact that Yahaya Bello saw it coming.
“Senator Natasha has not only rubbished the State, from the events happening now and from what is on the ground the state and all over the federation, Kogi as a whole is in a real mess in terms of our perception,” Karimi said.
Reacting to the criticism, Akpoti-Uduaghan fired back at her fellow Kogi lawmaker, calling on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to conduct periodic drug tests on senators.
Speaking with The PUNCH, the suspended legislator, who spoke through her media aide, Israel Arogbonlo, reiterated that the NDLEA should be allowed to check the mental state of senators to avoid erratic legislative hallucinations.
“NDLEA needs to conduct periodic tests on senators. That singular process will save the parliament from erratic legislative hallucinations,” she stated..
According to her, the idea is not entirely new, as the agency’s Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, has already advocated for drug integrity tests as a screening requirement for political aspirants.
Recall that the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission has taken a similar approach, conducting drug tests on chairmanship and councillorship candidates.
“By extending this practice to senators, the NDLEA can help maintain the integrity of the legislative process and prevent decisions made under the influence of substances. This move could lead to more effective governance and better representation for Nigerians,” the statement stated.
The PUNCH reported that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended by the Senate for six months.
But the Kogi legislator escalated her dispute with Akpabio, presenting her case at a United Nations forum, International Parliamentary Union, alleging political victimisation.
She was suspended on March 6 after a heated confrontation with the Senate leadership over a new seating arrangement, which she claimed was designed to undermine her.
Tensions intensified when Akpoti-Uduaghan, on national television, accused Akpabio of punishing her for rejecting his alleged sexual advances.
Speaking at the Women in Parliament session during the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting at the United Nations in New York, Akpoti-Uduaghan called for international intervention to hold the Nigerian Senate accountable.
She further decried stringent conditions imposed on her, including withdrawal of security, salary cuts, and a ban from the National Assembly for six months.
