Natasha Suspension: Kingibe Told Me Her Signature Was Forged On Report Presented By Akpabio, Oshiomhole Claims
A fresh controversy has emerged over the suspension of Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan after former Edo State Governor and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, alleged that Senator Ireti Kingibe informed him that her signature was forged on the Senate committee report that recommended the lawmaker’s suspension.
Oshiomhole made the allegation on Monday during an interview on AIT while reacting to comments reportedly made by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who described Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension as the lowest point of the Senate’s last legislative year.
Responding to questions on whether he shared Bamidele’s position, Oshiomhole said concerns had been raised by some senators regarding the authenticity of signatures attached to the committee report that led to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
The former Edo governor claimed that Kingibe personally told him she neither signed the report nor agreed with its contents, despite her name appearing on the document presented before the Senate.
“When the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said that, yes, because there are people who even claimed that their signatures were forged on that document,” Oshiomhole said.
“I mean someone like Senator Kingibe. She told me, ‘Ah! But I didn’t sign that document. I didn’t agree with the content,’ yet her name was published in the report that was tabled before the Senate.”
PulseNets learnt that Oshiomhole explained that Senate committees are expected to arrive at collective decisions through hearings and deliberations before members endorse final reports with their signatures.
According to him, committee members who disagree with recommendations have the option of withholding their signatures from the report.
“The committees do a hearing and hear all those who have something to say. They decide on their findings and recommendations, and members of the committee are expected to sign the report,” he said.
“To sign is to endorse. Where many don’t accept the content, they could abstain from signing it.”
Oshiomhole further alleged that other senators had also raised concerns after discovering that their names appeared on the committee report despite not signing it.
“There are one or two senators who said, ‘We didn’t sign but our names were there.’ Some suggested that attendance registers may have been attached, but that was not their understanding,” he added.
However, the lawmaker stopped short of directly accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio or any Senate official of forgery.
“This is not my problem. If Opeyemi said so, I think you should take him seriously. He is not giving in to frivolities,” he stated.
PulseNets reports that the allegation comes months after the Senate suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan following a protracted dispute that escalated into a major political controversy within the upper legislative chamber.
The Kogi Central senator had accused Senate President Akpabio of victimisation and later made allegations of sexual harassment against him. Akpabio denied the claims.
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The dispute sparked widespread national debate and drew criticism from civil society organisations, women’s rights advocates and opposition figures, many of whom argued that the Senate’s handling of the matter raised serious questions about transparency, accountability and due process.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was subsequently challenged in court and remains one of the most controversial decisions taken by the Senate since the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.
