Exclusion from NCDC C’ttee: My Colleagues ‘Frustrating My Work’ in the National Assembly – Sen Natasha
The lawmaker representing Kogi Central in the Senate, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has protested her exclusion from the Senate Committee on North Central Development Commission (NCDC).
The lawmaker in a statement on Monday decried the attitude of her colleagues towards her since she returned from the six months suspension slammed on her over her disagreement with the President of the Senate.
According to her, “ Since my return to the Senate, there has been a pattern of calculated actions designed to frustrate and undermine my work.”
Narrating how she was excluded from the NCDC budget defence meeting, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan stated that despite her efforts to be carried along since her senatorial district is part of the North Central, the chairman of the committee, Senator Titus Zam pointedly told her that “ being a senator from North Central does not automatically make one a member of the Committee, and that he operates under certain protocols and instructions.”
The Kogi central lawmaker alleged that the phone of her aide that recorded the event was also confisticated by officials of the NCDC Committee Chairman.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s statement reads:
The Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), chaired by Titus Zam, convened to interface with the Commission and deliberate on its 2026 budget proposal.
I was neither notified nor invited.
I became aware of the meeting barely twenty minutes before it ended. By the time I arrived at the National Assembly, I met members of the NCDC management exiting the Senate Complex. I immediately proceeded to Room 431 in an effort to participate in what remained of the session, only to be informed by four committee staff that the meeting had concluded.
When I demanded to know why I was excluded — despite being a senator from the North Central zone — I was told it was likely an “oversight” by the committee clerk.
However, upon requesting the attendance register, I discovered that my name was not even listed among senators from the North Central zone. This was not a mere oversight. It was a deliberate omission of record.
I proceeded to the Chairman’s office to seek clarification. In the presence of three other individuals, I confronted what I consider a deliberate attempt to sideline me — and by extension, the people of Kogi Central — from a critical budgetary process directly affecting our district.
I raised clear concerns:
- I was not notified.
- I was not invited.
- My name was excluded from the committee register.
- I was not added to the Senate’s NCDC communication platform where official information is shared.
In response, Senator Zam stated that being a senator from North Central does not automatically make one a member of the Committee, and that he operates under certain protocols and instructions.
As I left his office, I was informed that the phone my staff used to document the exchange had been seized and handed over to the Chairman. I insisted on its immediate return and made it clear that I will resist any action — procedural or political — that seeks to marginalise Kogi Central from development initiatives meant for our people.
Let it be clearly understood: exclusion will not silence me.
Since my return to the Senate, there has been a pattern of calculated actions designed to frustrate and undermine my work. Yet, I remain focused and unshaken. My mandate is from the people, not from any committee structure.
I will continue to pursue every lawful avenue to ensure that Kogi Central receives its fair share of socio-economic development. No district should be excluded. No voice should be suppressed. No mandate should be diminished.
My commitment to the people of Kogi Central, Kogi State, and Nigeria is unwavering. I will not retreat. I will not be intimidated. And I will not allow my constituents to be sidelined.
Senator Natasha H Akpoti Uduaghan
Kogi Central