The Senate has dismissed allegations by Sen. Adams Oshiomhole that signatures of some lawmakers were forged in a report that recommended the suspension of Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The Senate spokesman, Sen. Yemi Adaramodu, stated this while reacting to Oshiomhole’s claims in an interview with TheCable.
Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, had alleged in a recent interview that some senators whose signatures appeared on the report did not actually endorse it.
He specifically claimed that Sen. Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), told him she only signed the attendance register of the committee meeting and not the report recommending Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
However, Adaramodu dismissed the allegation, insisting that no senator’s signature was forged during the process.
“That is not true. Signatures forged, over what? If Senator Kingibe had anything against any procedure, she would report it on the floor of the Senate, not to an individual,” he said.
Adaramodu, who said he was a member of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions that handled the matter, maintained that the proceedings were conducted transparently.
“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.
“Senators are independent-minded people. We are mature men and women. If anyone has any grievance, such a person can raise it without requiring an advocate,” he said.
The Senate spokesman described the allegation as strange, noting that no senator had formally complained about any forgery in relation to the committee’s report.
On whether the Senate would take any action against Oshiomhole over the allegation, Adaramodu said the upper legislative chamber would review the comments and determine an appropriate position.
“We are going to review any statements made by him. The Senate will take a cursory look at either extraneous, spontaneous or intentional comments from any senator appropriately.
“We are going to look into it. We will take a stand, and everyone will know where we stand,” he said.
Adaramodu further stressed that the report and subsequent decision on Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension were debated openly during plenary.
“It was debated on the floor of the Senate openly in the full glare of every Nigerian and even the international audience.
“All Nigerians knew where we stood then on the issue of Natasha, that she ran foul of the Senate’s orders. We are orderly because we are bound by the rules and orders of the Senate,” he said.
The controversy follows renewed public debate over the circumstances surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension and the procedures adopted by the Senate committee that investigated the matter.
