Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has praised the reopening of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s office at the National Assembly, describing it as a triumph of unity over oppression.
On Tuesday, officials of the Senate, led by Alabi Adedeji, Deputy Director of the Sergeant-at-Arms, reopened Akpoti-Uduaghan’s office in Suite 2.05 of the Senate wing, allowing her to resume legislative duties. The office had remained locked since March 6, 2025, following her six-month suspension over alleged violations of the Senate’s standing rules.
Although the Federal High Court ruled on July 4 that the suspension was “excessive and unconstitutional,” the lawmaker was repeatedly denied access to her office, with the National Assembly insisting the issue was still before the courts.
In his reaction, Atiku welcomed her return, stressing that the development underscores the power of collective resistance. “It is reassuring that the voice of reason has finally prevailed with the unsealing of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s office,” he said. “Though the precious time denied the people of Kogi Central cannot be regained, the struggle has not been wasted. It shows that when we stand together, tyranny cannot win.”
Atiku went further to connect the senator’s ordeal to what he described as a wider pattern of democratic suppression under the Tinubu administration. He cited the suspension of Governor Simi Fubara alongside members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as well as the targeting of opposition lawmakers, as part of a broader scheme to weaken democracy.
“These actions are not random,” Atiku argued. “They are part of a deliberate strategy by this government, as the 2027 elections draw nearer, to subvert democracy and silence the people’s will at any cost.”
He assured that the opposition would continue to challenge such moves through legal and democratic means. “We will do everything within the law to safeguard our democracy, defend the people’s mandate, and rescue the nation from the grip of authoritarianism,” he declared.
