Drama In Senate As Natasha Marks Seat For Self
•By Admin
ABUJA – THERE was drama in the Senate yesterday as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan marked a seat for herself during a budget defense before the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Sanni Musa from Nigeria State.
Natasha marked the seat and warned that no one should sit on it before she walked out of the committee room 201 in the Senate New Building of the National Assembly.
The committee chairman corroborated her point and warned that no one should sit on the marked seat and like the plague, other senators avoided the Natasha marked seat and sat elsewhere.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, clashed with the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Steel Development, Senator Patrick Nwabueze, during the 2026 budget defence session.
Trouble started when the Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, told lawmakers that the proposed ₦500 million capital allocation for 2026 would be grossly inadequate to revive the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company.
The Minister disclosed that between $1.5 billion and $2 billion would be required to fully resuscitate the steel complex.
He explained that plans for Russian financing suffered setbacks due to the Russia-Ukraine war, which he said disrupted earlier funding expectations.
However, Senator Natasha faulted the Minister’s explanation, insisting that Russia had earmarked $50 billion for Africa’s development in 2019, adding that there was an existing Memorandum of Understanding between former President Muhammadu Buhari and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ajaokuta.
In an attempt to calm frayed nerves, Committee Chairman, Senator Nwabueze, announced plans for an immediate oversight visit to Ajaokuta and a further investigative hearing on the matter.
But Natasha insisted on making additional comments and protested when she was not recognised to speak, leading to a heated exchange before she staged a walkout from the session.
Despite the tension, the committee proceeded with the budget defence of other agencies under the Ministry of Steel Development.
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