The chairman, Senate committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, says the Senate will consider viable opinions of all stakeholders in the passage of current Tax Reform Bills .

Senator Musa who stated this during an interview with newsmen in Abuja emphasized the need for Nigerians to be patient for a tax regime that would be beneficial to all and sundry.

He explained that the red chamber would evolve a legislation that is workable in line with international best practices.

Senator Musa told newsmen that president TINUBU needs one trillion dollar economy adding that the proposed Tax regime would outlive every individual including the lawmakers.

Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio for allegedly defaming her

The suit was filed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday with Akpabio and his senior legislative aide Mfon Patrick listed as second to third defendants.

In the suit, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, referred to Akpabio’s words published by his aide on his Facebook page with the title, “Is local content committee of the senate Natasha’s birthright?” where he stated that the claimant thought being a lawmaker is all about pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the Chambers.

Giwa alleged that the statement on Akpoti-Uduaghan was defamatory, provocative, and disparaging, and lowered her dignity in the eyes of her colleagues and right-thinking members of the public.

“A declaration that the words ‘it is a 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’ used and written by the 3rd defendant at the prompting of the 1st and 2nd defendants is defamatory and intended to cause public opprobrium and disaffection towards the claimant by members of the public,” her reliefs partly read.

Akpoti-Uduaghan urged the court to restrain the defendants or associates from publishing defamatory words against her on any platform.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants whether acting by themselves or through their agents, privies, assigns, or associates from further publishing or caused to be published the said defamatory words herein stated or any other similar publications about the claimant on the social media platform or in any other manner, which is capable of defaming the claimant,” she stated.

She, however, urged the court to order the defendants to pay her ₦100bn as damages and ₦300m as litigation costs.

“An order for payment of the sum of ₦100,000,000,000 as general damages. An order for payment of the sum of ₦300,000,000.00 only as cost of action,” she said.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently voiced her concern after her seat was reassigned due to a reshuffle. She resisted the relocation and this led to a clash between her and the senate president.

The Kogi lawmaker has been referred to the Senate Disciplinary Committee in the wake of the seating arrangement dispute.

The Senate has unanimously voted to refer Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for disciplinary review, following her recent seating arrangement dispute.

The Kogi Senator had engaged in a shouting match on February 20 after discovering that her seat had been changed without her consent.

The committee, chaired by Senator Neda Imaseun, has been given two weeks to report back on its findings.

The decision was reached following a voice vote after lawmakers revisited the controversy surrounding the recent altercation between Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate leadership over seat allocation, with lawmakers underpinning the need to uphold parliamentary rules and decorum.

In a motion raised under Order 1(b) and 10, condemning what he described as Akpoti-Uduaghan’s “extreme intransigence” during the Senate session on February 20, Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, revived the saga on the floor, stating that “from that Thursday, the media was awash with this issue and I had to work on mending the perception of the 10th Senate. The Senate is not a platform for content creation but a place for lawmaking and oversight functions.”

He urged the Senate leadership to enforce discipline, warning that “Where there is sin, there must be a penalty.”

Supporting Adaramodu, the Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, also weighed in, reaffirming the Senate’s commitment to its rules and internal order.

According to him, “There is no one who does not have an opinion on this issue, but we are unified by our rules. Under our watch, we will not allow this institution to be discredited beyond what we inherited. Integrity is non-negotiable.”

He dismissed claims that the dispute was rooted in gender bias or discrimination, citing examples of senior senators who had accepted seat changes without protest.

In response, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to review the entire incident and report back to the chamber.

Akpabio recalled that the Senate rules allow members to sit anywhere, but contributions must be made from their designated seats. He suggested that unfamiliarity with Senate procedures may have contributed to the altercation.

He stated that “the first day she was sworn in, she stood up to contribute, and I was worried if she had even read the rule book. There is nothing wrong with being vibrant, but everything wrong with disobeying procedure.”

Citing Order 66(2) and Section 55 of Senate rules, he underscored that all senators must conduct themselves with decorum, including prohibitions on chewing gum, drinking water or being disruptive during sittings.

“The rules empower the Senate President to suspend a senator for infractions for at least 14 days. It’s not me who made the rules, it’s in the rule book.”