A dispute over scheduling on Monday sparked fresh controversy in the Senate as Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan protested what she described as her exclusion from a budget defence session of the North-Central Development Commission (NCDC).
The budget defence, held at the National Assembly of Nigeria, was scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. and concluded shortly after 11:00 a.m. According to sources familiar with the proceedings, the Kogi Central lawmaker arrived at the venue around noon, only to discover that deliberations had already ended.
Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the timing of the session, arguing that it effectively prevented her from taking part. Sources said her protest was not aimed at the substance of the proposed ₦140 billion 2026 NCDC budget, but rather at what she perceived as being shut out of the process entirely.
Earlier, the chairman of the Senate Committee on NCDC, Titus Zam, told journalists that committee members had examined the commission’s estimates and found them aligned with the development priorities of the North-Central region. He said the panel advised the commission to place strong emphasis on agriculture and security during implementation.
Monday’s incident comes just days after Akpoti-Uduaghan staged a walkout during a separate oversight session of the Senate Committee on Steel Development. During that meeting, she clashed with committee chairman Patrick Ndubueze after he moved to conclude questioning of the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, despite her request to continue speaking.
The senator insisted she still had critical issues to raise and accused the committee leadership of curtailing her participation before walking out of the session.
Taken together, the two episodes have intensified scrutiny of procedural practices within Senate committees, particularly around meeting schedules, members’ participation, and the management of speaking opportunities during budgetary and oversight engagements.
