Natasha moves to thaw frosty relations with Akpabio

Strong indications appeared, Thursday in Abuja that the frosty relation between Sen Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio had thawed. This follows an invitation extended to the latter to attend her project commissioning event. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had scheduled the inauguration of projects executed to the benefit of her constituents in Kogi Central to take place sometime next week and extended an invitation letter to the Senate President and other colleagues. The invitation from Natasha to fellow Senators , was contained in a letter personally signed by her and read in plenary by the President of the Senate . Natasha in the letter invited the entire Senators to join her in projects commissioning in Ihima Kogi State on Sunday to mark her second year in the Senate . ” The letter reads in part : ” In marking my second year anniversary as serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , I wish to invite fellow Distinguished Senators to join me for projects commissioning in Kogi State” Meeting point for the event as stated in the letter , is Senator Natasha Akpoti – Uduaghan residence at plot 101 Jimoh Akpoti Street Ihima , Okene Kogi State . As announced by the President of the Senate , she added in the letter that for Senators traveling by Air for the event , Obajana Airstrip can be used for landing before proceeding to Ihima by road . Apparently pleased with the invitation, Akpabio after reading the letter , congratulated Natasha in advance , saying ” Congratulations in advance ” . Recall that the feud between the duo over seat re-allocation in the hallowed chambers of the Senate in February this year , snowballed into wider crisis and suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti – Uduaghan for six months by the Senate on the 6th of March this year . Uon her resumption from the six months suspension on the 24th of last month , Senator Natasha has been interfacing with Akpabio in plenary through contributions to proceedings. One of such instance was an additional prayer she made to resolutions adopted on Criminal Code Act ( Amendment) Bill , 2025, considered in the Senate on Tuesday last week ; but her letter to all Senators , read by Akpabio on Thursday, is the closest of all so far .

Sen Tinubu launches N925m national women empowerment scheme

The First Lady, Sen  Oluremi Tinubu has flagged off a N925million empowerment scheme targeted at 18,500 women nationwide. The empowerment scheme shall be executed as joint programme of her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), in partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Senator Tinubu inaugurated the disbursement on Thursday at Government House, Lokoja and said the scheme was aimed at boosting economic growth and supporting women entrepreneurs across the country. Represented by the wife of Kogi state Governor, Hajia Sefinat Ododo, she explained that the initiative targets 18,500 women nationwide, with 500 beneficiaries in each state, including the FCT. She said 500 Kogi women would each receive N50,000 grants to strengthen their small businesses and improve their economic stability. According to her, the programme was designed to support hardworking women traders and entrepreneurs who sustain their families while uplifting their communities. Tinubu stressed that empowering women was vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG-5 on gender equality and SDG-8 on decent work and economic growth. The initiative was made possible through a N1 billion donation by the Tony Elumelu Foundation to the Renewed Hope Initiative. The First Lady added that the scheme underscored RHI’s commitment to promoting women’s economic independence and strengthening households, communities and the nation. Secretary to the Kogi Government, Dr Folashade Ayoade, thanked the First Lady for remembering Kogi women and praised Elumelu’s philanthropic support. She urged the beneficiaries to use the funds wisely to expand their businesses and ensure quality education for their children. Kogi Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Fatima Momoh, said the programme fulfilled a vision to uplift women and transform communities through sustainable support. Momoh assured that her ministry would continue backing initiatives that promote women’s empowerment across the state. Hajia Sefinat Ododo presented N50,000 cash to a beneficiary during the Lokoja event. Grateful beneficiaries, including Aisha Salihu, lauded the First Lady and the Governor’s wife, saying the support would enhance their businesses and livelihoods.

Kogi bye-election: INEC confirms receiving sensitive materials

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kogi  says it  has received sensitive materials for the Dekina-Okura II house of assembly bye-election in  the state. INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC)  in Kogi, Mr Oliver Agundu, made the disclosure on Friday. Agundu, who spoke through the commissions’s  Voters Education Officer in Kogi,  Mr Haruna Haliru, said the sensitive materials were collected from the  Central Bank of Nigeria  Zonal Office in Lokoja. He said the  commission is ready to commence distribution of the sensitive materials to  various polling units in the four affected wards for the election. “The Dekina-Okura II state constituency has a total of 78, 059 registered voters, out of which 76, 385 had collected their Permanent Voter Cards  and ready for the election, ” he said. The REC  said that only five out of the 18 registered political parties are contesting in the election. He listed the parties as  Accord, African Democratic Congress,  All Progressives Congress; Allied People’s Movement, and the  People’s Democratic Party. The REC  expressed satisfaction with the deployment of security operatives and observers for the election. He,  however, assured all stakeholders in the constituency of a free, fair, transparent and credible election.

Senator Natasha, the girl-child and kitchen sink throwers

By: UGO ONUOHA IN our country, Nigeria, they are the alpha males. I mean the male class of the ruling elite. In truth, there’s virtually no female class of the ruling elite since the advent of this country in 1914 when the northern and southern protectorates were amalgamated by the British overlords. There’s this legend that it was a woman who, today in Nigeria, will be regarded as the ultimate ‘side chick’ or a consort to the then ruler of our country that named Nigeria, Nigeria. The woman, Flora Shaw, was a British journalist, and later wife of Lord Frederick Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The story was that in 1897,Flora Shaw coined the name “Nigeria” to refer to the region surrounding the River Niger, a river that was discovered by Mungo Park irrespective of the fact that people had lived on the banks of the same river for centuries before the coming of that meddlesome foreign, no good, interloper. Ironically, if Flora Shaw were to be alive today, she would have been in the forefront of the agitation for the respect of the rights of the embattled Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. She was a noted strong advocate for women’s rights. There are still some female folks who speak out in the promotion and defence of women’s rights. But their voices are muffled and often drowned out by the cacophony of noises from the alpha males who are the custodians of “ji na nma” or the wielders of the stick and the carrot in the Nigerian realm. Women of stature in the mold of Margaret Ekpo, Funmilayo Ransom-Kuti, Queen Amina, Gambo Sawaba, and the leaders of the protesting Aba Women in 1929 have become extinct. The 1929 Aba Women’s Riot was led by Madame Nwanyeruwa. A fearsome and extremely courageous woman who inspired others to organise a massive revolt against British colonial administrators in the southeastern part of this country. The riot which was also known as the Women’s War was a response to the introduction of direct taxation on women and the oppressive policies of the British colonial government. Significantly, the Aba Women’s War inspired other events in other parts of Igboland, and Nigeria throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Indeed, historians recorded that the riot was a significant event in the rise of African nationalism and a challenge to British colonial rule in some African countries including Nigeria. Natasha would have rest assured if we still have the Nwanyeruwas, Funmilayos, Margarets, Gambos and Aminas. In a sense Natasha is an orphan. The tragedy is that what is currently happening to senator Natasha in the cult called the senate of Nigeria, the supine and staggeringly corrupt and incompetent ‘Independent’ National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Executive branch of government in Abuja and Lokoja (Kogi state), and among some vested political actors have implications far beyond whatever fate would befall Natasha. If the mafia in politics and the various branches of our government succeed in silencing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, then the fate of women and our female children would be impaired permanently. Women will be stigmatized. Their participation in politics and governance will be adversely impacted. That adolescent girl in the university will be compelled to sign on to the Code of Silence in the face of sexual harassment by her lecturer or supervisor. The woman who desires to make a career in corporations or Nollywood will lose the courage to name and shame male sex predators. Ultimately, this country loses. The concerted efforts to squelch what appears to be Nigeria’s ‘Me Too’ season with the allegations of sexual harassment against the senate president, Godswill Akpabio by his colleague, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan have dire ramifications for this country. That we appear not to care is shocking, to say the least. It’s instructive and curious that Natasha’s senatorial zone that could only muster about 100,000 votes between the two leading contenders in 2023 after about one year of campaign, was able to manufacture 250,000 votes in a matter of hours to trigger Natasha’s planned recall. Curiouser still is the fact that the face of the recall campaign was that of an aide to the governor of Kogi state who is a noted political enemy of Natasha. In the last one month all manner of kitchen sinks are being thrown at Natasha simply because she complained about a toxic work environment. She claimed that she was suffering privations in her workplace, which is the senate of the federal republic, because she refused the alleged repeated sexual advances of the senate president, Akpabio, who is also the chairman of the national assembly. In the event of the unexpected, Senator Akpabio is the third in line to the presidency. So the office he occupies is significant. Ordinarily, the Natasha matter should be simple and straightforward. The burden is on the person who accused another of wrongdoing to prove her weighty allegations. The easiest way to resolve the matter would have been to provide the platform to put the accuser on the spot and then discredit her claims, and dismiss the evidence that she claimed were in her possession. But no. First, her petition was initially rejected because she signed it contrary to senate’s rule. Eventually, she succeeded in submitting the amended version but by that time some senators had said publicly that her petition was dead on arrival. How can a supposedly lawmaking body be so lawless, tactless, reckless, and brazen? Earlier, the chairman of the senate committee on public petitions, Neda Imaseun, was all over television stations speaking on the petition and suggesting that Natasha’s allegations lacked merit. Even as rotten as our country is, it is still difficult to find something so absurd to compare with the conduct of Senator Imaseun. Well, his behaviour should not be entirely surprising. After all, there’s information in the public domain that the man is a fugitive from the law in the United States of America (USA) where he had been disbarred from practicing law in the

Protest Hits Lokoja Teaching Hospital as 272 Doctors Resign

Turbulence in the nation’s Ivory Towers has hit the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lokoja as doctors took to the streets on Friday to protest poor working conditions, leading to the resignation of 272 doctors.  The hospital’s doctor count has fallen from 315 to just 43, according to Dr. Olushola Baoku, the former Chairman of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD). READ ALSO: Federal polytechnic Abuja named after Tinubu  The protestors are calling on President Bola Tinubu and Health Minister Prof. Ali Pate to address the situation before the hospital faces a complete breakdown. Baoku described the hospital as being poorly managed under the leadership of Dr. Olatunde Alabi, the Chief Medical Director (CMD).  He pointed out issues such as short-term contracts, no pensions, no hazard allowances, and faulty medical equipment.  The hospital is unable to handle emergencies, which led to the death of a staff member due to power failures. The protestors also demanded the return of their suspended president, Dr. Jimoh Umar. Despite an order from the Ministry of Health in December 2024 for his reinstatement, Dr. Alabi has not complied.  The doctors have pledged to continue their protests until the government addresses their demands.

Bags Of Rice Donated By Tinubu Government Repackaged in Kogi, Sold to Residents

By Doris Isreal Ijeoma The bags of rice recently distributed by the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government have been seen in a video being re-bagged for commercial sale in Kogi State. The government had earlier said it gave 20 trucks of 25kg rice to each state of the federation for free distribution to vulnerable households.  Each truck is said to contain 1200 bags as one the interventionary measures of the FG in tackling the surging food inflation in the country.  In the video obtained by SaharaReporters, residents were seen stating that as against the directive that the rice should be distributed for free, some persons are repackaging them to be sold in open market. “The rice shared by the federal government is being repackaged for sale. As you can see on the body is written “not for sale”, however we accosted these persons trying to repackage it. They said they got the rice from the Agriculture ministry in the country” the incensed residents noted in the video.  They lamented the rising cost of living and how the intervention meant was also subjected to fraudulent practices. “It’s unfortunate, I bought a tin of Beans for N380 yesterday and see what they are doing to this rice now” another person said in the video. It would be recalled that the government said it is committed to tackling food inflation, rolling out interventional measures to tackle the food inflation. Distribution of palliatives has always come with corruption and corruption allegations in Nigeria. During the COVID-19 era, different palliatives meant to be shared to residents of different states were seen hoarded in stores, a development that led to anger among citizens.