The National Assembly appears to be unsure about who is responsible for officially notifying lawmakers of their return to plenary on the assembly’s behalf.
The Senate President’s Chief of Staff, Chinedu Akubueze, said Monday that the plenary resumption would be delayed from September 23 to October 7, 2025, in a statement he signed.
According to established procedures, Mr. Akubueze, a former Senate Clerk, had overreached his duties as the Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s chief of staff and had veered into the territory of Mr. Kamoru Ogunlana, the National Assembly Clerk.
“The resumption of plenary sitting of the Senate, originally scheduled for Tuesday, 23rd September, 2025, has been shifted to Tuesday, 7th October, 2025,” said Akubueze’s message, which was sent out early in the morning.
He penned a two-paragraph statement apologizing for any trouble his notification, which he admitted arrived quickly, may have caused.
He asked MPs to take notice of the postponement and make the necessary adjustments to their calendars.
“I am directed by the presiding officers of both Chambers of National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to inform all members of the National Assembly and the general public that the Resumption date of the National Assembly, originally scheduled for Tuesday 23rd September 2025, is postponed to Tuesday 7th October 2025,” said Mr. Ogunlana, the National Assembly Clerk, in a similar statement issued minutes after Akubueze’s notice.
Committee work is still ongoing, though. We kindly ask that all Honorable Members and Distinguished Senators take notice of the updated date and modify their schedules appropriately.
We sincerely apologize for any trouble this rescheduling may have caused.
The escalating friction in the Clerk’s office over its suspected involvement in the resuming fiasco of suspended Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan may be linked to the development and a “lack of synergy” between the two offices.
As you may remember, Senator Natasha has vowed to take the National Assembly Clerk to court over his alleged involvement in the case through her lawmakers.
In a reply letter, however, Mr. Kamaru insisted that he had nothing to do with attempts to prevent her from returning from a six-month suspension that had already been served.
