Fresh indications of reconciliation surfaced on Tuesday as the Senate leadership ordered the reopening of the office of embattled Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, effectively restoring her access to the National Assembly after months of political turmoil.
Senate security operatives, alongside officials from the Sergeant-at-Arms department, unlocked Office 205 on Tuesday, marking a symbolic step in thawing relations between the lawmaker and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator, had been under suspension since March 2025 following a dramatic protest in the chamber over the controversial reallocation of her seat. Her suspension—initially pegged at six months—also cost her the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, and she was barred from participating in the activities of the 10th Senate.
Although her suspension officially lapsed this month, she remained locked out amid legal tussles and stiff resistance from the Senate leadership. In July, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, faulted the prolonged sanction, declaring it “excessive and unconstitutional,” adding that her constituents were being denied representation. But the Senate insisted she must serve her full suspension.
Sources in the upper chamber disclosed that the reopening of her office followed a closed-door meeting of the Senate leadership on Monday. A motion for her formal reinstatement is expected when plenary resumes on October 7, with Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro likely to spearhead the move after a public apology from the lawmaker.
Legal pressure had mounted earlier this month when her counsel, Michael Jonathan Numa (SAN), issued a 15 September ultimatum to the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamorudeen Ogunlana, threatening contempt proceedings if she was not reinstated. Ogunlana, however, replied that he lacked the constitutional powers to reverse Senate resolutions, a position later reiterated by the National Assembly’s Information Director, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah.
The decision to restore access to her office is being seen as a soft landing for the senator, signalling an easing of hostilities in the Red Chamber.
