The suspended lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has alleged that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio is against her as a result of the five mini LNG refineries she lobbied for her constituency.

She lamented that while she was working hard to serve her constituency, some people felt she was trying to ridicule them, hence she made lot of enemies.

Akpoti-Uduaghan stated this on Tuesday in Ihima community, Okehi local government area while celebrating Sallah festival with her constituents.

The lawmaker alleged that Akpabio removed her from the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Local Content because he believed that she was using the committee to promote the North.

The federal lawmaker, who had been suspended for six months from the Senate for alleged gross misconduct, said no amount of intimidation and persecution would stop or discourage her from serving the people that gave her the mandate to represent them at the National Assembly.

According to her, “My constituents stood on the hot sun on the 28th of February, 2023 you voted for me across party lines to give me your mandate to represent you at the national assembly as a senator.

“The only reason why I had been persecuted so much in the last one month was because I dared the bad corrupt system. I refused to do things the way they usually do politics , I refused to be silent and I used my position as a senator to lobby projects for my constituency.

“But as I worked hard to serve my constituency i made a lot of enemies as some of them felt I am subjecting them to ridicule , my colleagues in the senate confronted me that my empowerment programmes are subjecting them to ridicule in the constituency and I pleaded to them that, that was not my intention.

“I will never regret doing what I am doing for my constituency. I am being harassed by the senate president but he can never get whatever he wanted from me. On the 30th of February, 2025 when the ground breaking of five mini LNG refineries was carried out in Ajaokuta my constituency, the project angered the Senate President.

“The Senate President, who was furious, stated that how can such projects be established in the North instead of the South – South. The Senate President removed me from the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Local Content because he believes that I have been using the committee to promote the North and that is exactly what he said. He refused me from the committee just five days after the ground breaking of the five projects.”

The embattled Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has disclosed that the idea of using a helicopter as a means of transport for her homecoming rally in Kogi came from her husband.

She also insisted that she broke no law by her actions as the road that led to the venue of the event was constructed by her and the land on which the helicopter landed is owned by her family.

Senator stated this on Thursday during an interview with Channels Television.

It would be recalled that hours before the event, the Kogi State government banned all forms of rallies in the state and declared that all convoys coming into the state must get approval.

However, Natasha circumvented the directives by arriving via helicopter, where she was received by her constituents.

Speaking on Tuesday’s homecoming rally, which coincided with the celebration of the 2025 Eid which is the end of the Ramadan fast, Senator Natasha insisted that it was not a political event as she had always done it even before she became a Senator, adding that it is a way of relating and giving back to her people.

She said she already knew that the state government came up with the restrictions because of her, adding that she wasn’t aware of any security challenge that could have warranted issuing such bans.

Senator Natasha also described herself as a peace-loving and law-abiding individual, contrary to the description by the state government that she is a law breaker.

Former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (rtd), who spent over two months in captivity, has recounted his harrowing experience in the hands of terrorists and kidnappers.

Tsiga revealed that he and other abductees were held in a dense forest surrounded by hills, teeming with dangerous animals. He described his survival as nothing short of divine intervention.

The 72-year-old said: “We were kept with dangerous animals—hyenas, snakes, and scorpions. A day before I was released, just the day before yesterday, while on the mountain where I was staying, we suddenly noticed a hyena circling us, looking for food. And what kind of food? Us, human beings.”

“Throughout our time there, we constantly lived with snakes and scorpions. But the most terrifying experience was how they treated those of us whose ranks they knew. Whenever troops attacked them, they would bring us out and use us as human shields, hoping to get us killed by the military strikes. They wanted us to be hit by the aircraft. But God is merciful.”

“The National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) have said it—the good ones will survive, and ultimately, the bad ones will meet their end.”

Tsiga further narrated a particularly chilling experience involving an unexploded rocket: “During an airstrike, a rocket was fired at the terrorists, but it didn’t explode. Instead, they carried the unexploded rocket and placed it where I was sleeping, hiding it in a way that if I touched it, it would detonate. Yet, by God’s mercy, I survived.”

He also highlighted the kidnappers’ belief that military officers have access to government funds, which led them to attack his home.

“They believe that those of us in uniform are given money by the government. That’s why they tried to break into my house. They couldn’t, so they went to my home in Kaduna and used explosives to destroy it, including the gates.”

Speaking on behalf of the 18 other rescued victims, Tsiga expressed gratitude to the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Chief of Defence Staff. He emphasized that security is a collective responsibility.

“We must not assume that the government can do it all alone. Everyone must contribute by providing intelligence and information. The NSA and the CDS are not magicians; they need timely and accurate reports to act upon.”