Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) has publicly extended an “olive branch” to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other lawmakers, inviting them to the inauguration of constituency projects in Kogi State.
This gesture comes just weeks after her return from a controversial six-month suspension.
The invitation was formalized in a letter read by Senate President Akpabio during Thursday’s plenary session. The letter partly read:“In marking my second anniversary as serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to invite fellow distinguished senators to join me for projects commissioning in Kogi State,” the letter partly read.
The project commissioning event is scheduled for Sunday in Ihima, Okene Local Government Area.
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The senator designated her residence as the meeting point for the guests.
For lawmakers traveling by air, the senator “advised that the Obajana airstrip could be used before proceeding by road to Ihima.”
Akpabio’s response to the invitation was notably warm, as he said, “Congratulations in advance,” after reading the letter aloud.
This invitation marks a significant turning point in what was once a “bitter rift” between the two senators.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended on March 6, 2025, following a “heated face-off” with the Senate leadership over the reallocation of her seat during plenary.
Her protest at the time escalated to accusations of “gross misconduct” and a walkout that gained national media attention.
She had publicly “accused Akpabio of running the upper chamber with a “dictatorial hand,”” while the Senate President had maintained that her actions “breached parliamentary decorum.”
Although her suspension ended in September, the senator only regained access to her office two weeks ago following a “months-long standoff and court filings.”
Political observers view Thursday’s invitation as the “clearest sign yet of rapprochement” between the two camps. Since her reinstatement, Akpoti-Uduaghan has gradually resumed full participation in Senate activities, including contributing an “amendment to the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill 2025 last week.”
The gesture is seen as a “strategic reconciliation move” by the Kogi senator, whose return had reignited debates concerning “gender representation, dissent, and discipline within Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber.”
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