Politics of bitterness plays out at late Ohinoyi’s palace as senator Natasha is denied access 

The Senator representing Kogi Central senatorial district, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has reacted to an unexpected denial of access to the Palace of late Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, HRM, Dr. Ado Ibrahim during her condolence visit to families of the late Monarch on Saturday.  

The Senator and her entourage were denied access to the popular Azad palace of the late paramount ruler and prevented from paying her last respects to the late Monarch. 

This is coming barely a week after Natasha reclaimed her mandate at the Court of Appeal having been declared as the authentic winner of the February 25th National Assembly poll.

She was subsequently sworn in as Senator representing Kogi Central on Thursday by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Governor Yahaya Bello of the state in an uncommon display of sportsmanship had joined her well wishers to Congratulate her

saying he had accepted the decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, affirming Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as the duly elected candidate for the Kogi Central Senatorial Election held in February, this year. 

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday upheld the ruling of the election petition tribunal which removed Abubakar Ohere of APC, and declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the PDP as the legitimately elected Senator for the Kogi Central Senatorial District. 

The Appeal Court gave the judgment on Tuesday while ruling on an Appeal case filed before it by Abubakar Ohere. 

The court further dismissed the appeal filed by Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for lacking in merit. 

The election petition tribunal, had on September 6, affirmed Natasha as the duly elected Senator as it nullified Ohere’s victory citing inflated polling results in favour of Ohere in some units and deliberate undercounting against Akpoti-Uduaghan. 

The Tribunal Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako delivered the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel, revealing that Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area. 

He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA. 

The Tribunal judgment led Ohere to seek redress. However, the Appeal Court further maintained that Akpoti-Uduagan won the election. 

Speaking to State House Correspondents, Governor Bello congratulated Natasha, saying that this was the essence of democracy. 

He added that both Akpoti-Uduaghan and Abubakar Ohere were his “siblings” from the same senatorial zone. Bello was known to have bitterly fought a political war of attrition against Natasha. 

He called on the people of Kogi Central to embrace the court’s decision.

Natasha however addressed the crowd outside the palace, saying she came to show her appreciation to the late Monarch for the love and support shown to her when he was alive. 

“Our father was a pillar to our senatorial victory and I enjoyed this privilege support from the time of the Ajaokuta steel advocacy because the development of Ebiraland was all his concern. 

“He was a peaceful man, may the peace he preached reign in Ebiraland. Even though he’s not with us today physically, he’s still with us in spirit, he would have been happy to receive us. With the legacies he left behind, surely he died an accomplished man “, she said. 

While praying for the soul of the late King to rest in peace, Senator Natasha promised to live up to what the King stood for in the Senate.      

Sources close to the palace while the situation played out indicated that the obstruction at the palace is linked to actions stemming from the state government, suggesting a fightback in response to the defeat of the Governor’s anointed candidate in the recent Appeal Court ruling which affirmed Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as the duly elected Senator of Kogi Central senatorial district. 

This development further lends credence to the belief that the Governor’s earlier congratulatory message to Senator Natasha may have been a calculated move to create a facade of peace, concealing an underlying effort to garner support for his anointed candidate in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the state.

—