Natasha again! In heated argument with colleague

Senator Natasha Apoti-Uduaghan is the news once more. This as she clashed with fellow senator, the chairman of the Senate committee supervising the Ministry of Steel Development, Patrick Ndubueze.

The heated exchange happened on Wednesday after lawmakers had spent nearly four hours reviewing the ministry’s performance, with much of the discussion centred on the troubled Ajaokuta Steel Company and various agreements signed with private partners.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, continued to ask more questions even after the long session, seeking further explanations from ministry officials. As the meeting dragged on, the committee chairman signalled that it was time to close proceedings, noting that she had already spoken at length.

His attempt to end the session did not sit well with the lawmaker. She objected immediately, and the situation became tense. While the chairman advised her to save the remaining questions for a later investigative hearing and struck the gavel, she insisted on being heard.

In that moment, she said, “I think you have disrespected me more than enough. No, no, no. You can’t do this to me. You can’t. You spoke enough; allow me to speak.

“I have something very vital to interface with the minister, and it doesn’t matter if I have spoken once or twice. This is an interactive session. And you agree that we have not met with the minister enough. Only God knows when next we are going to meet with him as a committee.”

The chairman maintained that he had treated her with respect, but the disagreement briefly disrupted the meeting.

Much of the debate focused on the ministry’s handling of Ajaokuta and the Memoranda of Understanding signed with private firms. Akpoti-Uduaghan questioned the transparency of those agreements and said she was not properly informed.

“I did request a copy of the MoU because I needed to be certain that due diligence was conducted, but since I was not furnished with the MoU, I had to rely on third-party conversations,” she stated.

She also complained that the ministry had not adequately engaged her as the senator representing the host community. According to her, efforts to meet the minister had not yielded results.

“I am the senator representing Kogi Central, and since I got into the Senate, we have just met only three times. We only seem to meet at budget presentations,” she said.

“I am saying it right now, I am going to write to you formally. I am seated in dual capacity. I have got host community representation to project and protect.

During her remarks, the senator criticised what she described as repeated speeches without real progress on the steel project.

“You have prepared this fantastic speech, we just met, we talked to the media, and then every day we fold our arms and do nothing. Three years into you being a minister, we are still trying to go back and forth on what is the best model to move Ajaokuta. Isn’t that funny?” she said.

Responding, the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, presented details of the ministry’s budget. He explained that agencies under the ministry received N24.143 billion in the 2024 appropriation, broken down into N9.5 billion for personnel, N383 million for overhead costs, and N11.06 billion for capital projects.

He added that as of December 31, 2025, only 56.5 per cent of the total funds had been released. While personnel and overhead allocations were fully paid, capital funds stood at 48.4 per cent, and releases for the 2025 capital budget had not yet begun.

Earlier, Senator Isah Jibrin urged the ministry to rely less on foreign investors and instead consider local funding to revive the steel plant.

“We need to approach the Debt Management Office with specific requests on specific production lines, noting that Ajaokuta has over 20 production lines that could be activated in phases.

“Why is anyone waiting for foreign investors to come in? There are so many issues related to foreign investment. One of them is security,” he said.

He argued that restarting just a few production lines with local support could create jobs and boost economic activity.

Despite the tense moments, the committee agreed to organise further meetings to address unresolved matters concerning Ajaokuta and other outstanding agreements