Senator Jimoh Ibrahim Refutes Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Petition to the IPU
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, Chairman of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, has dismissed the purported petition submitted by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) as “dead on arrival.”
In a statement issued in Abuja, Senator Ibrahim clarified that only member states of the IPU can lodge complaints against other member states, emphasizing that the IPU cannot entertain petitions from individuals. He pointed out that Nigeria, not Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, is a member of the IPU.
“I served as the interim president of the IPU in Geneva in 2023, and I am familiar with how the IPU operates,” Ibrahim said. “As the Chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee in the Nigerian Senate, I did not approve or authorize the suspended Senator Natasha to attend the IPU on behalf of Nigeria to the Senate President.”
Ibrahim’s statement further underlined that the suspended Senator is not authorized to represent Nigeria at the IPU, effectively rendering her petition invalid.
