Former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili has condemned the Nigerian Senate for continuing to bar Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming her legislative duties despite the expiration of her suspension, saying that the Senate is killing democracy.
In a memo released on Wednesday via her official X account, Ezekwesili described the indefinite suspension of the Kogi Central senator as an assault on democracy and the rule of law.
She wrote: “Democracy Dies When Laws Become Weapons and Lawmakers Become Serial Lawbreakers.”
Ezekwesili criticised Senate President Godswill Akpabio and his colleagues for what she called “constitutional overreach”, warning that the action threatens Nigeria’s democratic foundations.
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“The Senate’s latest constitutional – the farcical letter dated September 4, 2025, signed by the Acting Senate Clerk and informing Senator @NatashaAkpoti that her suspension will continue indefinitely – represents nothing short of an existential threat to our constitutional democracy,” she stated.
The former minister reminded the Senate that Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court had already ruled the six-month suspension as excessive and unconstitutional. She noted that by denying Natasha resumption, Akpabio’s Senate was effectively depriving the people of Kogi Central of their right to representation.
According to her, “181 days are the constitutionally mandated sitting days for the National Assembly. Six months and counting is the length of suspension imposed and now being prolonged, and so the proportion of legislative participation denied to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Kogi Central constituents is over 100%.”
She also recalled earlier judicial precedents which limited suspensions to a maximum of 14 days, accusing the Senate of deliberately ignoring court rulings to shield its leadership from scrutiny.
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Ezekwesili declared that Nigerians must not allow the matter to be trivialised as a “personal quarrel”, stressing that it is about the survival of democratic institutions.
“This case transcends one senator or constituency—it concerns our democracy’s soul and our collective responsibility to protect it. If a duly elected senator can be silenced for exercising constitutional rights to petition and speak, what protection exists for ordinary citizens?” She asked.
She further urged citizens to rise in defence of their rights, insisting that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall was a constitutional obligation.
“Rescind your unconstitutional decision immediately. Recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan without delay. Cease your scandalous misappropriation of public office powers to break laws and breach our Constitution. End this hubris now,” Ezekwesili wrote.
The post generated strong reactions online, with many Nigerians echoing her concerns.
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Mazi Onyokpo said, “The woman should resume on the expiration of the suspension. Even if there is a court case, the court, no decision barred her from resuming.”
Another user, Hon Ayodele Mcawal, argued: “Six months after Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan raised serious allegations, the Senate has continued to punish her not through investigation or due process, but through indefinite suspension. That’s not justice. That’s silencing.”
Hon Richard S.O. Masi went further, urging protests if Natasha is not recalled: “I call on the people of Kogi Central to picket the @nassnigeria complex entrance if their representative is not allowed to represent them. The excesses of @SPNigeria must be cut down to size.”
While some users dismissed Ezekwesili’s intervention, others warned that the refusal to respect court orders could spark larger political unrest.
Ezekwesili concluded her memo with a call to action, insisting that “Every day without remedy chips away at democracy’s foundation. Every moment court orders are defied by those in power teaches our children that law is optional for the powerful.”
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