NewsDesk Your trusted news source
The Chairman of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Interparliamentary Relations, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, has dismissed the petition reportedly filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), stating that Nigeria, as a country, is the recognized member of the organization not individual lawmakers.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Ibrahim emphasized that the IPU only considers petitions from member states, making it impossible for a single senator to file a formal complaint against Nigeria.
“A petition can only be lodged against another member state by a member state,” he explained.
He further clarified that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan did not receive authorization from the Nigerian Senate President or the Interparliamentary Committee to represent Nigeria at the IPU.
“As Chairman of the Interparliamentary Committee in the Nigerian Senate, I did not approve or authorize the suspended Senator Natasha to attend the IPU on behalf of Nigeria,” Ibrahim stated.
Ibrahim, who has previously presided over IPU proceedings, reaffirmed that the IPU operates strictly within the framework of parliamentary membership, thereby rendering any individual petition outside of this scope inadmissible.
