The Nigerian Senate has dismissed allegations by Senator Adams Oshiomhole that signatures were forged in the report recommending the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, insisting that no such irregularities occurred during the process.
Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu said the upper chamber would, however, review Oshiomhole’s comments, but firmly rejected claims that any lawmaker’s signature was falsified.
“That is not true. Signatures forged, over what?” Adaramodu said during a telephone interview with TheCable on Tuesday.
Oshiomhole had alleged in a television interview that some senators whose names appeared on the committee report did not actually sign the document recommending Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.
He specifically referenced claims involving Senator Ireti Kingibe, saying she reportedly told him she only signed an attendance register and not the final report.
Responding, Adaramodu maintained that no senator had formally raised such concerns within the chamber, stressing that parliamentary procedures provide clear channels for complaints.
“If Senator Kingibe had anything against any procedure, she would report it on the floor of the senate, not to an individual,” he said.
He added that members of the Senate Ethics and Public Petitions Committee were directly involved in the proceedings and that no coercion or forgery took place.
“Nobody will say that he or she was coerced or somebody’s signature was forged; that has never happened in the senate and it cannot happen,” he said.
Adaramodu also said the Senate would examine Oshiomhole’s remarks and determine an appropriate response, but maintained that the institution operated transparently.
He noted that the suspension process involving Akpoti-Uduaghan was debated openly during plenary and conducted in full public view.
“All Nigerians knew where we stood then on the issue of Natasha that she ran foul of the senate’s orders,” he added.
... Senate Rejects Oshiomhole’s Forgery Claims in Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Suspension Report ... Naijaonpoint.