ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday strongly denied allegations that lawmaker signatures were forged to secure the suspension of opposition Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan last year, dismissing the claims as "strange" and unprecedented.
The controversy erupted after Senator Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, alleged during a television interview with local broadcaster AIT that some signatures on the disciplinary report were fraudulent.
Oshiomhole claimed that Ireti Kingibe, the lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory, told him she had merely signed an attendance register for a committee meeting, not the final report recommending Akpoti-Uduaghan's suspension.
Senate spokesman Yemi Adaramodu swiftly rejected the assertion, defending the integrity of the upper legislative chamber's procedures.
"That is not true. Signatures forged, over what?" Adaramodu said in an interview with online newspaper The Cable. "Nobody will say that he or she was coerced or that somebody’s signature was forged. That has never happened in the Senate, and it cannot happen."
Adaramodu, who served on the Ethics and Public Petitions Committee that investigated the matter, insisted the process was entirely transparent. He argued that if Kingibe had any grievances regarding the committee's findings, she would have raised them officially during a legislative session.
"If Senator Kingibe had anything against any procedure, she would report it on the floor of the Senate, not to an individual," Adaramodu said. "Senators are independent-minded people. We are mature men and women. If you have any infraction against anybody, that person can, without any advocate from anywhere, show it."
Akpoti-Uduaghan, a prominent lawmaker from the opposition People's Democratic Party, was suspended last year following a tense legislative row. The Senate leadership at the time stated she had violated institutional standing orders, a decision Adaramodu maintained was reached through consensus and open debate.
"It was debated on the floor of the Senate openly at the plenary in the full glare of every Nigerian and even the international audience, so there is nothing to hide," the spokesman added. "All Nigerians knew where we stood then on the issue of Natasha... that she ran foul of the Senate’s orders."
The allegations have threatened to spark fresh internal friction within the ruling All Progressives Congress, to which both Oshiomhole and the Senate leadership belong.
When questioned on whether Oshiomhole would face disciplinary sanctions for his public comments, Adaramodu indicated that the chamber would review the broadcast before taking any formal action.
"We are going to review any statements made by him," Adaramodu said. "The Senate will take a cursory look at either extraneous, spontaneous or intentional comments from any senator appropriately. We will take a stand, and everyone will know where we stand."
He reiterated that no lawmaker had formally complained about identity theft or document falsification regarding the disciplinary action.
The Nigerian Senate has frequently faced public scrutiny over its internal discipline and oversight functions, but officials insist its administrative processes remain strictly regulated by constitutional guidelines.
