Senate on Fire: Oshiomhole, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in Heated Clash Over Abortion Debate — Akpabio Rules Kogi Senator Out of Order

There was tension and drama in the Red Chamber on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, as tempers flared between former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North), and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central), during a heated plenary session over a controversial clause relating to abortion.

The confrontation, which played out before stunned lawmakers, began after Senator Natasha — known for her vocal advocacy on women’s issues — attempted to speak on a clause that had already been ruled “stepped down in totality” by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

A video clip shared by Viable TV captured the fiery moment Senator Natasha rose to make her point, appealing to the conscience of the Senate.

> “Mr. Senate President, please may I speak? I’m a woman, and abortion has to do with women. It’s very important, sir,” she implored.

But Akpabio, who appeared keen on maintaining order, quickly cautioned her.

> “Let us go to the clause. This has been stepped down in totality. Yes, you are distinguished, but this has been stepped down in view of the Convention. However, if you have anything to add, you can say,” he stated firmly.

Unrelenting, Senator Natasha persisted:

> “Thank you very much, sir. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from Kogi Central. Sir, this borders on abortion.”

Her insistence drew an immediate reaction from Senator Oshiomhole, who sharply rose on a point of order, accusing her of breaching parliamentary rules and questioning Akpabio’s leniency.

> “Mr. President, we have been tutored repeatedly that once a matter has been concluded and you’ve dropped the gavel, revisiting it violates the rules,” Oshiomhole thundered. “If you grant an exemption to Distinguished Senator Natasha, then you must extend the same to the rest of us — and that would make our rules meaningless.”

The former labour leader, known for his fiery oratory, continued with forceful gestures, warning that allowing such exceptions could throw the Senate into chaos.

> “If you begin to exercise discretion of granting exemptions here and there, we shall have no rules. The rules must be firm and applied the way you have done, even when I tried to speak and was stopped,” he added, to murmurs from his colleagues.

Sensing rising tension, Akpabio moved to restore calm, invoking the Senate rulebook.

> “Distinguished Senator Oshiomhole, I must add that I am not in the spirit to know what Senator Natasha wanted to say,” Akpabio said, flipping through the pages of the rulebook. “But Rule 52, Sub 6 clearly states that it shall be out of order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which the Senate has already come to a conclusion, except upon a substantive motion for rescission.”

He then struck the gavel, ruling decisively:

> “Since the Senate has already concluded and stepped down the matter, it shall be out of order. I therefore rule Senator Natasha out of order.”

The chamber erupted in subdued murmurs as Akpabio’s gavel fell, bringing the tense episode to an abrupt end.

Political observers say the exchange underscores growing divisions within the Senate on gender-sensitive legislation, with some viewing Natasha’s persistence as a bold defense of women’s voices, while others hail Oshiomhole’s intervention as a necessary defense of parliamentary order.

Either way, Tuesday’s drama was a reminder that even within the hallowed chambers of the Nigerian Senate, ego, passion, and principle often collide — and sparks fly.