By correspondent in Abuja.
Sen.Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The first female Senator from Kogi state in 32 years, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan emerged on Tuesday, following the judgment of an Appeal court in Abuja,Nigeria’s capital.
According to our Correspondent in Abuja,the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, has upheld the ruling of the election petition tribunal which removed Abubakar Ohere of All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the duly elected Senator for the Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The Appeal Court gave the judgment on Tuesday while ruling on a case filed before it by Ohere.
With the Appeal Court victory, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who hails from Okehi local government area, became the first female National Assembly member from Kogi State.
The appellate court upheld the earlier ruling of the Tribunal which declared Natasha as the winner of the February 25, 2023 Kogi Central senatorial election.
The Appeal Court in its ruling held that the Tribunal was right in its judgment, adding that the results of the polling units in Ganaja Ward were unlawfully and deliberated omitted from the collation of results when INEC is duty bound to accept such results.
The appellate court further stressed that the petitioners failed to tender any other result to challenge the results tendered by the appellants.
“No evidence was adduced to justify the claim of overcoming in the polling units. There is no reason whatsoever for rejecting the votes of the polling units.
“The area challenged by the petitioners for not being allowed to challenge the results of the election is outside the respondent petitions. Petitioners cannot challenge the result that was used to declare them as the winner. The petition is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit”, the Appeal court held.
The Appellate Court further ordered the petitioners; Sadiku Abubakar Ohere and APC to pay the sum of N500,000 as fine to Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and PDP.
Some members of the public in Abuja who reacted to the development in an interview with our correspondent, hailed the judgment.
Natasha Hadiza Akpoti (born 9 December 1979), is a Nigerian Barrister, Social Entrepreneur and Politician.
She ran for the post of Senator for Kogi Central Senatorial District under Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the year 2019. She contested in the 2019 Kogi State Gubernatorial Election which was held on 16 November 2019.
She is the founder of Builders Hub Impact Investment Program (BHIIP),according to wikipedia.
Her last contest on which she was affirmed as the winner by the judgment of the Appeal court was on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP.
According to a write up by unknown author, entitled “LITTLE ABOUT BARR NATASHA HADIZA AKPOTI UDUAGHAN”,the new Senator was born over 40 years ago.
The author write:”Natasha H Akpoti was born on the 9th December,1979, she is the second of four children and the only daughter of a Nigerian father and a Ukrainian mother. Her mother, Ludmila Kravchenk, is a Ukrainian from Rakitna in the region of chernivtsi. Her father Dr. Jimoh Abdul Akpoti, is from obeiba-ihima, Kogi state.
She spent her early years in ihima,Okene kogi state.
She lost her father in 1998 and the family had to relocate.
She studied at the University of Abuja from 2000 to 2004 and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree. She was called to the Nigeria bar in 2005 upon graduation from the Nigeria Law school in Abuja.
In 2011, she proceeded to the university of Dundee and graduated with a Masters of Business Administration in oil and gas management from the University of Dundee.
She is a mother of three lovely kids.
On the 5th March,2022, she married the Alema of warri, chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, in a ceremony at her native home, ihima.”
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
