The Chairman of the Senate Committee on North Central Development Commission (NCDC), Sen. Titus Zam, has said that contrary to her claims, Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP-Kogi) is not a member of the committee and so couldn’t have attended the meeting the committee had with leaders of the commission on Monday, February 16.
Senator Natasha had created a scene in Zam’s office over claims that her name was omitted from the attendance register of the committee.
In a statement released on her Instagram page, the Senator said as a lawmaker from the North Central, she was meant to be at the meeting but was conspicuosly excluded. She mentioned that she was not even added in any of the media platforms where information about the committee’s activities were being disseminated. In a viral video, Senator Natasha could be heard shouting and saying she will not allow any of her colleagues undermine her people.
In his reaction, Senator Zam insisted that the Kogi Central senator is not a member of his committee.
“She’s not a member of the committee and was not invited to the budget defence meeting. Two senators from Kogi are members. Indeed, Sen. Isah Jibrin is my vice-chairman of NCDC, while Sen. Sunday Karimi is a member. After the budget defence meeting, Sen Natasha came several hours later to complain about her not being invited. I told her she’s not a member, so she couldn’t have been invited. Many other north-central senators are not members because senators from other zones in Nigeria are mixed up in all the development commission committees for the purpose of national character.
For example, Sen. Pam Mwadkon from Plateau State too is not a member of NCDC, because Senators Diket Plang and Simon Lalong are members. She, as usual, ignorantly claimed that being from north-central Nigeria, she ought to have been a member.
A brief argument ensued, and I told her to approach the senate committee on selection and lodge her complaint. After a back-and-forth movement, she left my office”