The Nigerian Senate has named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations, effectively replacing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who remains suspended despite a court ruling nullifying her suspension.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced Bassey’s appointment during plenary on Thursday. Bassey, who represents Akwa Ibom North-East, takes over from Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was reassigned to the committee in February after being removed from her previous role as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content.
Although no official reason was offered for Thursday’s reshuffle, it is widely believed to be linked to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s unresolved suspension. In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court declared her suspension “excessive and unconstitutional,” and ordered her reinstatement along with an apology from the Senate.
However, the Senate has stalled compliance, citing its failure to receive a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment. Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, said she is awaiting the CTC on legal advice before returning to the chamber.
Meanwhile, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to Senate counsel Paul Daudu (SAN), claims the court’s ruling lacks an enforceable reinstatement order—further muddying the waters.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three women in the current Senate, has decried the situation as an attack on democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central—it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation,” she said in a televised interview on Tuesday.
The continued standoff raises questions about institutional accountability and whether gender bias is playing an unspoken role in the upper chamber’s internal politics.
