Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a N100 billion suit against the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over allegations bordering on defamation.

This follows her objections to the re-assignment of her Senate seat after a reshuffle caused by opposition members switching to the majority wing. She resisted the move, leading to a confrontation with the Senate President.

The Kogi lawmaker has been referred to the Senate Disciplinary Committee following the dispute over the seating arrangement.

In a suit filed on 25 February 2025 before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Akpoti-Uduaghan named the Senate President, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Mfon Patrick, the Senior Legislative Aide to the Senate President, as the second and third defendants.

In the suit, identified as CV/737/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer Victor Giwa, claimed defamatory statements were made by the Senate President and shared by his aide on Facebook.

The post, titled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?” included a statement implying that Akpoti-Uduaghan believed being a lawmaker was merely about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”

Giwa argued that the statement was defamatory, insulting, and damaging to his client’s reputation in the eyes of her colleagues and the public.

He said, “A DECLARATION that the words, ‘It is bottled anger by the Kogi lawmaker, who knows nothing about legislative rules. She thinks being a lawmaker is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers,’ written by the third defendant at the prompting of the first and second defendants, is defamatory and intended to cause public scorn and animosity toward the claimant.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan also sought a court order to prevent the defendants and their associates from making further defamatory statements against her.

She requested, “An ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the defendants, whether acting by themselves or through their agents, privies, assigns, or associates, from further publishing or causing to be published the said defamatory words or any similar publications about the claimant on social media or any other platform capable of defaming her.”

Additionally, she demanded the defendants pay her N100 billion in general damages and N300 million to cover litigation costs.

“An order for the payment of N100,000,000,000 as general damages. An order for the payment of N300,000,000 as the cost of action,” she concluded in her suit.

The former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his appointments into the federal cabinet.

El-Rufai, on Monday, accused Tinubu of favouring his ‘boys’ from Lagos into political offices, and not the Yorubas.

He made the accusation during an interview on Arise TV.

He said: “The president’s appointments are not being made because the appointees are Yoruba, but because they are his own boys. Most of the appointments do not even reasonably cover the South-West.

“So people should stop confusing the truth. The appointments are not balanced. Yes, definitely, definitely, right? You cannot argue that, but it’s not a Yoruba thing.

“Please don’t punish the Yorubas as you have been punishing northerners for the sins of the military.

“Let’s focus on individuals and hold them accountable. President Tinubu needs to do something about that. It’s still not too late. He can correct it, but there is palpable anger in the North.”

By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

Apart from having the fear of God, one of the greatest desires any individual is a responsible life partner or spouse. In fact, a responsible partner transcends beyond ability to provide as there exists many, who can provide, are still irresponsible. Being responsible is priceless. Being responsible is a currency and goodwill which is not seen among cheap people.

While little girls in high schools are thrilled about the handsomeness of boys, and big ladies in colleges are attracted to the intelligence and financial capacity of guys, mature working ladies are more concerned about the security and loyalty of guys. This set of mature ladies are not concerned about the physical looks and financial capacity of guys. Though money and good looks are important, but they can’t be compared to loyalty and security. This is because a man may not have money, may not look great, and may not even be rich in intelligence, but when a lady sees him as responsible, with prospects, she might take him very seriously, and vice versa.

Asides character, irresponsibility is one thing that detaches a man from a lady. As a matter of fact, when a man senses a lady has been sexually exposed to a lot of men, withdrawal syndrome begins to set in, especially if he’s familiar with such men. Irresponsibility can be attributed to lack of good character or why will a responsible woman be messing around with several men.

One may wonder if this article is about the relationship between a man and a woman. The simple answer is no. The article is about life. I had to begin with human beings to x-ray the importance of living a responsible life. The truth is nobody likes to relate with an irresponsible person whether at work, church, family or events. An irresponsible person will have trust issues, fail in leadership, suffer from accountability issues, and will never be counted as reliable. If negative forces wish to deal with a person, they send an irresponsible people their way, and the individual’s life or work will be completely damaged.

As human beings, we are responsible for our life. It is what we sow that we reap. When we love, we are bound to reap love, when we sow hatred, it has a way of coming back to us. When we sow kindness, kindness will locate us in due time. When we sow hard work, it has a way of paying us back in the near future. When we help the less privileged, we accumulate the grace and mercy of God in the universe. When we invest in people, we tend to open doors, and like a magnet, attracts blessings, favours and opportunities our way.

The question we need to ask ourselves therefore, is what kind of life are we living? According to Socrates, “an unexamined life is not worth living”. Being able to take stock of one’s life is one of the best things that can happen to anyone. Just like a businessman takes inventory of his products, one must be intentional to live a life of purpose. Failure to do so is inviting Karma.

It’s instructive to note that taking responsibility involves a process. It is the foundation one lays that determines the kind of house they live in. For instance, if your tummy aches, what you ate yesterday is the likely the cause; if you are depressed, the culprit is the thought you meditated on the night before; if you are broke, it is usually because you mismanaged your money earlier; if you are overweight, it is because you over-ate in the past. Did you see that actions have consequences and it’s your responsibility to fix yourself with the right thoughts and actions.

The moral of the story is that your reality today is the consequence of your thoughts and actions of yesterday. And your future will reflect your thinking and deeds of today. It’s important to note that no demon is powerful enough to make you reap what you did not sow, neither is any demon more powerful than Karma. If you are in doubt, sow a seed today, and it will show tomorrow.

So, it is important for one to take responsibility for their lives. Nobody will fix you more than you can fix yourself; nobody can help you more than you can help yourself; nobody can save you more than you can save yourself; nobody can inspire you more than you can inspire yourself; and nobody can make you live a responsible life if you are not determined to be responsible.

It’s sad to see people who haven’t taken time to plan their lives, yet expect other people to fix them. Some people don’t invest in themselves by reading, researching, taking a class, course, learning a skill, traveling, investing in their businesses, relationship, network, volunteering in an association, and adding value to their lives. Sometimes, lazy minds lie idle waiting for the Lamb of God, who will take away their sins and burdens. These lazy minds fail to understand that everyone is dealing with a secret frustration.

In conclusion, decide today to take charge of your life, and see how life will unfold positively for you.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com