Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan: Suspended Nigerian senator refused entry to National Assembly
But Senate President Godswill Akpabio argued that the courts cannot interfere in parliamentary business. Akpoti-Uduaghan was barred from parliament in March after submitting a petition saying she had been sexually harassed.Akpabio has gone to the court of appeal to challenge the decision that his female colleague should be reinstated, saying that parliamentary procedures are shielded from judicial interference.That court has not yet ruled.Speaking to journalists shortly after being denied entry to the National Assembly, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the senate leadership of being in contempt of court.'Akpabio cannot be greater than the Nigerian constitution. 'The office of the senate president does not give me legitimacy. My legitimacy comes from the people of Kogi (state) who voted me in,' she said.The lawmaker said she would consult her legal team on the next steps.According to senate rules, Akpoti-Uduaghan should not be allowed into the assembly premises until her suspension expires in September.Civil society groups in the country have expressed concerns over the lawmaker's treatment, calling for a transparent investigation into her allegations.
More BBC stories on Nigeria:
Buhari - the austere Nigerian military ruler who defeated a sitting presidentBig shake-up in Nigerian politics as heavyweights join forcesNigeria's major tax overhaul explained
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Homelessness minister faces criticism over hiking rent after removing tenants
Four tenants who rented a house in east London from Rushanara Ali were sent an email last November saying their lease would not be renewed, which also gave them four months' notice to leave, the i newspaper reported. Ms Ali's property was then re-listed with a £700 rent increase within weeks, the newspaper said. A spokesperson for the minister said: 'Rushanara takes her responsibilities seriously and complied with all relevant legal requirements.' The house, rented on a fixed-term contract, was put up for sale while the tenants were living there, and it was only re-listed as a rental because it had not sold, according to the i. But the minister's actions are now facing scrutiny from rental rights campaigners, as the Government seeks to clamp down on what it sees as unfair rental practices. The Renters' Rights Bill includes measures to ban landlords who end a tenancy to sell a property from re-listing it for six months. The Bill, which is nearing its end stages of scrutiny in Parliament, will also abolish fixed-term tenancies and ensure landlords give four months' notice if they want to sell their property. Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, described the allegations as 'shocking and a wake-up call to Government on the need to push ahead as quickly as possible to improve protections for renters'. He added: 'It is bad enough when any landlord turfs out their tenant to hike up the rent, or tries their luck with unfair claims on the deposit, but the minister responsible for homelessness knows only too well about the harm caused by this behaviour. 'These allegations highlight common practices that the Government can eradicate. 'The Renters' Rights Bill would ban landlords who evict tenants to sell the property from re-letting it within 12 months, to deter this kind of abuse – but unfortunately members of the House of Lords have voted to reduce this to six months. 'The Government can also use its review of the deposit protection system to penalise landlords who make exaggerated claims at the end of the tenancy.' Tom Darling, director at the Renters' Reform Coalition, said: 'It's mind-boggling that we have a homelessness minister who has just evicted four people in order to rake in more rent – something that will soon be illegal under the Renters' Rights Bill her own department is bringing through Parliament. 'The Government are currently considering an amendment to the legislation from the House of Lords which reduces the ban on re-letting after eviction from 12 months to six months. 'The Government must remove this amendment, and at the very least minister Ali must recuse herself from any discussions on this within Government.' Speaking to broadcasters, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper insisted Ms Ali had not breached any rules. 'I don't know any of the details of this, but I understand that she has followed all of the rules in this case,' Ms Cooper said. Shadow housing secretary James Cleverly told the i that Ms Ali should consider her position as a minister, as the allegations 'would be an example of the most extreme hypocrisy'.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Kemi Badenoch reveals how she SNITCHED on a fellow pupil for cheating in an exam - and it led to him being expelled from their school
Kemi Badenoch has revealed how she once snitched on a fellow pupil for cheating in an exam - and it led to him being expelled from their school. The Tory leader recalled, when she was 'about 14 or 15', how she stood up during the middle of an exam and said: 'He's cheating, he's the one that's doing it.' 'That boy ended up getting expelled,' Mrs Badenoch admitted, adding: 'I didn't get praised for it. 'I was a relatively popular kid at school, and people said 'why did you do that, why would you do it?'. I said 'because he was doing the wrong thing'.' The Conservative MP told the BBC that following the incident she was told 'You don't belong here, you don't know how to behave'. 'I've heard that all my life,' she continued. ''You don't follow the rules, you don't do what you're supposed to'. ''You're always sticking your head above the parapet, you're too direct, you tell the truth when you don't need to tell the truth when you should pipe down'.' Mrs Badenoch was born in Britain but spent her childhood in Nigeria and the US before she returned to the UK at the age of 16. The Tory leader admitted she was a 'swot' at school and also 'the tattle-tale in the class, getting people into trouble'. 'Even then I hated cheating,' she said. 'I wanted to be first in the class, I'd done all the work. 'And then there's some people who are copying notes - why should they get away with it?' Elsewhere in the BBC interview, Mrs Badenoch revealed how the case of Austrian sex offender Josef Fritzl caused her to lose her faith in God. She said she was 'never that religious' while growing up but 'believed there was a God' and 'would have defined myself as a Christian apologist'. But this changed in 2008 when she read reports that Fritzl had imprisoned and repeatedly raped his daughter, Elisabeth, in his basement over 24 years. Mrs Badenoch, whose maternal grandfather was a Methodist minister, said: 'I couldn't stop reading this story. And I read her account, how she prayed every day to be rescued. 'And I thought, I was praying for all sorts of stupid things and I was getting my prayers answered. 'I was praying to have good grades, my hair should grow longer, and I would pray for the bus to come on time so I wouldn't miss something. 'It's like, why were those prayers answered and not this woman's prayers? And it just, it was like someone blew out a candle.' But Mrs Badenoch insisted that while she had 'rejected God', she had not rejected Christianity and remained a 'cultural Christian'. She said she wanted to 'protect certain things because I think the world that we have in the UK is very much built on many Christian values'.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Prince Harry's camp issue stinging statement rebuking Charity Commission report into Sentebale
Prince Harry 's camp has issued a stinging statement rebuking the Charity Commission report into the racism row at his beloved African youth organisation. Sentebale's former trustees, many of whom are long-time friends of the prince and resigned en masse in March, claimed the watchdog had 'chosen to ignore key concerns and irrefutable evidence' which they raised over the 'leadership and oversight' of its new chair, Dr Sophie Chandauka. Harry also personally hit out at 'false' claims of bullying, racism and misogyny alleged by her against him, of which he said no was evidence was found - waspishly adding the word 'unsurprisingly' in an official statement. Sympathetic media were also briefed of his disappointment with 'sources close to Harry' claiming that he was 'devastated that the chair has been allowed to succeed with a hostile takeover' and accusing the Charity Commission of 'sitting so far on the fence that their feet are not even touching the ground'. The comments are a repeat of the reaction given by the prince when he recently lost a major High Court case over the cost and provision of official police security in the UK, in which he said he had been the victim of an 'Establishment stitch-up'. However supporters of Dr Chandauka expressed disappointment and concern at such a 'bitter' reaction, particularly given clear calls by the Charity Commission for all sides not to play their differences out in public and risk damaging the charity's reputation further. 'It does sound like sour grapes because the report made clear there was no criticism of Sophie personally and that Sentebale has correctly put a new team of trustees in place in order to move forwards from this [incident] and get on with their work helping the young people of Lesotho and Botswana,' they said. Sources have also pointed out that the Commission itself has admitted that it cannot investigate or adjudicate on individual allegations of bullying and, therefore, questioned on what basis it could rule that there was 'no evidence' to support Dr Chandauka's claims that she had been the victim of bullying and misogyny 'at scale'. A spokesman for the watchdog told the Mail that it appreciated 'individuals involved feel aggrieved about others' behaviour' but it had to asses the evidence through the 'lens of a regulator applying charity law'. The statement from the charity's former trustees, who include Harry's 'second father' and mentor, Mark Dyer, said: 'We are disheartened by the way in which the Charity Commission has chosen to ignore key concerns and irrefutable evidence raised with them regarding the leadership and oversight of Sentebale's Chair. 'We accept there is always room to strengthen governance of an organisation, which is why we welcomed a governance review by the Chair initiated in February 2024, and that should have only taken a matter of months - we unfortunately never saw a report or any outcomes enacted, more than two years into her tenure. 'We remain gravely concerned for the future of the charity and the wellbeing of the communities we served for 19 years, following the mission set out by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso in honour of their mothers.' Sentebale said it welcomes the conclusion of the compliance case and the issuing of an action plan, thanked the Charity Commission for its 'thorough review' and that it looked forward to moving forwards with confidence 'free from interference'. It comes after Harry last night walked away from the charity following the damning report into the explosive race row. The Charity Commission investigation criticised both sides of the acrimonious boardroom battle yet the war of words between the two continued. The probe said it could find 'no evidence' of 'widespread or systemic bullying or harassment, including misogyny or misogynoir' at Sentebale after Dr Chandauka made a series of incendiary allegations about the behaviour of the Duke of Sussex and his fellow trustees. And it criticised the trustees, including Harry, who resigned after the furore blew up in the public domain. Their failure to resolve disputes internally, 'severely impacted the charity's reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally,' the Charity Commission found. In March, Harry resigned as patron of Sentebale, the charity he founded in 2006, going on to say he expected the investigation to 'unveil the truth' while hoping the charity would be 'put in the right hands', suggesting there may have been a path back for him. Sentebale was set up to help orphans with Aids in the impoverished kingdom of Lesotho in memory of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales . The name means 'forget me not' in the country's official language. Last night, he made clear he had no intention of returning, with a spokesman saying: 'With the original mission of Sentebale firmly in mind - and in honour of the legacy he and Prince Seeiso [of Lesotho] began - The Duke of Sussex will now focus on finding new ways to continue supporting the children of Lesotho and Botswana.' The watchdog acknowledged the 'strong perception of ill treatment' felt by all parties, including Dr Chandauka, and the impact this may have had on them personally. They ultimately found that a series of failures leading up to, and following, the dispute had led to 'mismanagement in the administration of the charity'. But, despite the Commission urging both sides in the dispute to take a step back from playing out their problems 'in the public eye', it is clear that both sides remain deeply entrenched. In a further escalation of the war of words, a spokesman for the prince said it was 'unsurprising' that the report makes no findings of wrongdoing in relation to himself, or evidence of bullying or racism. The statement also hit out at the Charity Commission itself whose report he claimed fell 'troublingly short in many regards'. In her statement, Dr Chandauka emphasised that it was she who first privately raised concerns about the charity's governance with the Commission in February this year. It was only after she did this, she stressed, that 'those who resigned' in March launched an 'unexpected and adverse media campaign' that had gone on to cause 'incalculable damage' to the charity's work. Tellingly, she added that the campaign subsequently publicly waged against her 'offers a glimpse of the unacceptable behaviours displayed in private'. Talking of the 'intense' and difficult process, she added: 'We are emerging not just grateful to have survived but our dignity intact.' The row first exploded publicly in March when The Times newspaper was briefed about Harry's decision to resign from his role along with his co-founder Prince Seeiso and fellow trustees, many of whom were close personal friends and associates of the royal, amid a row with Dr Chandauka about the governance and future of Sentebale. He said his decision was 'devastating' and 'unthinkable' but described her leadership as 'untenable'. Dr Chandauka hit back, claiming the charity was beset by 'misogynoir' - misogyny against black women - and accusing the duke of 'bullying at scale' because she wanted to base the charity's operations and governance more fully in Africa and look for new sources of revenue other than Harry's favoured polo matches. She said scathingly: '...beneath all the victim narrative and fiction that has been syndicated to press is the story of a woman who dared to blow the whistle about issues of poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir and the cover-up that ensued. I could be anyone.' She also called the Sussexes' brand 'toxic' and said the prince's ability to attract funding for Sentebale had been detrimentally affected by the way he had quit royal duties. Dr Chandauka also lifted the lid on a peculiar incident at a fundraising polo match in April 2024, when Harry and Meghan turned up with a Netflix camera crew in tow, and the duchess was publicly crucified for apparently wanting to hog the limelight. She alleged that Harry asked her to make a statement in defence of his wife and when she refused, saying it was important that Sentebale wasn't seen as an 'extension of the Sussexes', she claimed she received an 'extraordinary, unpleasant and imperious' text message from the prince which further soured their relationship. Following a lengthy investigation into the complaints from both sides, the Charity Commission said last night that it had issued the charity with a 'Regulatory Action Plan' to address 'governance weaknesses' after a 'damaging internal dispute emerged' between Dr Chandauka, the Duke of Sussex and other trustees. The Commission emphasised that its role had been limited to determining whether the charity's current and former trustees, including its chair, have fulfilled their duties and responsibilities under charity law. It is not its responsibility to adjudicate or mediate internal disputes in charities, it stressed. However the Commission also simultaneously admitted that it cannot investigate individual allegations of bullying. The Commission, it said, had identified a lack of clarity around role descriptions and internal policies as the primary cause for weaknesses in the charity's management. It found that this confusion exacerbated tensions, which culminated in a dispute and multiple resignations of trustees and both founding patrons. The Commission found that delegation of certain powers to the chair was 'confusing and poorly governed', but that trustees also failed to have proper processes and policies in place in investigate internal complaints. It added that the fact the ensuing row played out in the media, including explosive television interviews, were not in the charity's best interests. The Commission also found there was a 'missed opportunity; to resolve the issues, which was contributed to by financial difficulties following the Covid pandemic, which contributed to tensions. It added that more robust policies around the position and remit of patrons needed to be put in place. The Commission added: 'The regulator has criticised all parties to the dispute for allowing it [the dispute] to play out publicly, and further concluded that the then trustees' failure to resolve disputes internally severely impacted the charity's reputation and risked undermining public trust in charities more generally. 'We hope our public statement will draw a line in the sand and that the focus can now be on allowing the charity's work to continue. David Holdsworth, chief executive of the Charity Commission, added: 'Passion for a cause is the bedrock of volunteering and charity, delivering positive impact for millions of people here at home and abroad every day. 'However, in the rare cases when things go wrong, it is often because that very passion has become a weakness rather than a strength. 'Sentebale's problems played out in the public eye, enabling a damaging dispute to harm the charity's reputation, risk overshadowing its many achievements, and jeopardising the charity's ability to deliver for the very beneficiaries it was created to serve. 'This case highlights what can happen when there are gaps in governance and policies critical to charities' ability to deliver for their cause.' Sentebale said it welcomed the announcement and confirmation that the charity has correctly appointed new trustees to take the charity forward. It added that it wished to thank the Charity Commission for the thorough way in which it conducted the review, including 'its responsiveness to the governance concerns that were first privately raised with the Charity Commission in February 2025 through its whistleblowing procedure'. 'With these strong foundations now in place, Sentebale can move forward with confidence - free from interference, committed to continuous improvement, and focused on delivering solutions addressing health, wealth and climate resilience for children and young people in Southern Africa,' it added.
