Media strategist and consultant to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Sir Kenny Okolugbo, has addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
He recently revealed that Natasha’s actions have been calculated for media optics.
Speaking during an interview with VanguardNG, Kenny said that the steps the suspended senator keeps taking are premeditated for media reactions.
According to him, Natasha’s appeal documents, particularly Ground 23, are the obvious proof of her intentional manipulation of the public narrative.
He stated that the judgment of Honourable Justice Binta Nyako did not mandate the Senate to take any specific action on the matter of her suspension, but Natasha is hell bent on escalating the issue through media dramatics.
“No, there was absolutely no formal notification sent to the Senate leadership or the Clerk of the National Assembly regarding her planned return. As clearly stated by Senator Yemi Adaramodu, who serves as the Senate Spokesman, the judgment of Honourable Justice Binta Nyako did not mandate the Senate to take any specific action on the matter of her suspension. There was no express order for her recall or reinstatement.
Her lawyer, Juan Numa, SAN, wrote a letter to the Senate, and it was duly acknowledged and replied by the Clerk of the National Assembly. That alone should have settled the matter. But instead, Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan chose to escalate the issue through media dramatics, pretending she had a court-backed mandate to resume. That was false and misleading,” he said.
Accusing the suspended senator of repeatedly provoking the Senate, Sir Kenny Okolugbo noted that she had no business showing up at the gates of the National Assembly alongside street touts.
He concluded by saying that such an act was nothing but political theatre to trigger public sympathy.
“What we saw on the 22nd of July 2025 was a deliberate act of provocation. Senator Natasha arrived at the gates of the National Assembly flanked by street urchins and political hangers-on. This was not a legislative act — it was pure political theatre. Her aim was to incite public sympathy and paint the Senate in a bad light, all based on a false premise.
Now, here’s where it gets even more disturbing. Ground 23 of her appeal in Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan vs Clerk of the National Assembly & Ors makes it explicitly clear that the judgment she claims gave her right of return did not grant her such relief,” he added.
