A video capturing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan voicing her frustration over being allegedly sidelined by the Senate has gone viral on social media.
In the clip, the senator addressed a Committee meeting, explaining that her staff had informed her the previous day that the Committee for Women Affairs required her passport to invite her to an event organized by the Ministry of Women Affairs. She said she was thrilled by the invitation and submitted her passport details within three hours. However, she later learned that the invitation had been canceled on the grounds that she responded too late.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed her concern over the lack of unity among women in politics, saying:
I am actually really concerned because in Nigeria, there is this assumption that women are each other’s problems and there is no harmony in how we work. How then do we tell Nigerians that with just four women, there is no coordination, and a woman is being excluded from such an important event concerning women globally? I was in another meeting but rushed here to raise this before the house. I am not under suspension and should not be treated differently. If the Committee for Women Affairs knew about this CSW weeks ago, why wasn’t I invited then? I only learned yesterday at 1pm and responded almost immediately, yet today I am told I responded too late and cannot attend.
A video of her remarks is circulating online, highlighting her disappointment at the perceived exclusion.