Oshiomhole retracts forgery claim, says Natasha’s suspension followed due process

Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo north as a senator, has revoked his previous claims about the forgery of signatures by certain senators on the report that recommended the suspension of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, another senator who represents Kogi central in the year 2025.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Oshiomhole denied the misinterpretation of his statements during the AIT television programme on June 15th.

“My attention has been brought to an obvious misrepresentation of the statement I made during the course of my interview on AIT ‘Politics Today’ broadcast on Monday 15th June 2026,” he said.

“To set the records straight, I wish to make the following clarifications.

“The insinuation that I said signatures of Senators were forged is a complete misrepresentation of what I actually said,” he said.

The lawmaker said he agreed with Yemi Adaramodu, senate spokesperson, who said no senator’s signature was forged during the Akpoti-Uduaghan suspension process.

“I agree absolutely with the spokesperson of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Yemi Adaramodu, that no signature of Senators was forged in Natasha Akpoti’s suspension,” he said.

“This is because, no Senator complained to me that his or her signature was forged.”

Oshiomhole said his only observation was that a member of the committee that handled the matter had claimed that attendance signatures were attached to the panel’s final report.

“The only comment I made is that one Senator, who is a member of the Committee ‘claimed’ that the signatures of attendance of some Senators were attached to the final report,” he said.

“Any suggestion to the effect that I alleged that any Senator’s signature was forged is completely untrue and should be disregarded.”

He added that the senate had moved on from the Akpoti-Uduaghan saga.

“As far as I am concerned, the issue of suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been put to rest and the Senate has since moved on,” he added.

Oshiomhole said his remarks were made in response to comments attributed to Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader, who reportedly described Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension as the “lowest point of the 3 years of the 10th Senate”.

“The context in which I made a comment on the Senator Natasha Akpoti’s issue was the AIT interviewer’s claim that Senate Leader Distinguished Senator Bamidele Opeyemi referred to the matter as the ‘lowest point of the 3 years of the 10th Senate’ to which I replied that ‘if indeed the Senate Leader said so, yes it should be taken seriously, because he is not given to frivolities’,” he said.

The senator reiterated that no lawmaker informed him that his or her signature had been forged.

“Once again, I emphasise that no Senator told me that his or her signature was forged,” he said.

Oshiomhole also expressed regret over the fallout from his earlier comments.

“Finally, I regret if my comments may have caused embarrassment to any Senator or the 10th Senate as an institution,” he said.

According to Oshiomhole, in an interview aired on AIT, the signatures of at least three senators were either forged or fraudulently included in the report which recommended the suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months.

The former Edo state governor said that some lawmakers who had signed their names on the report had secretly informed him that they did not sign or endorse any recommendation of the report.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended in March 2025 following accusations of gross misconduct and unruly conduct because she always accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of corruption.

The suspension prevented her access to the National Assembly Complex; she stopped receiving her salary and allowances; and her office was sealed up.