A dispute over membership and access
When Senator Zam says Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan not member of the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), he directly challenges her assertion that she was improperly excluded from a recent budget defence session.
The clarification followed a tense exchange after the committee held its engagement with the management of the commission in Abuja.
“She is not a member”
Senator Titus Zam, who represents Benue North-West and chairs the committee, stated that Akpoti-Uduaghan was neither invited nor listed because she is not formally a member of the committee.
“She’s not a member of the committee and was not invited to the budget defence meeting,” Zam said, adding that two other senators from Kogi State are duly appointed members.
He advised that any grievance should be directed to the Senate Committee on Selection, which determines committee composition.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s complaint
According to accounts from her camp, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that her name was omitted from the attendance register and that tensions escalated when aides attached to the committee chairman confronted members of her media team.
Her media aide claimed that a phone belonging to a cinematographer was seized during the exchange, describing the incident as unacceptable.
Zam, however, maintained that a brief argument occurred only after she arrived several hours after the budget defence had concluded.
The rules behind committee structure
Senate committees are constituted through a formal selection process designed to ensure representation across geopolitical zones while balancing party distribution.
Not all senators from a region automatically serve on development commission committees associated with that region.
The Senate Committee on Selection retains authority to assign and reassign memberships.
Representation versus procedure
Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly argued that as a senator from the North-Central zone, she should be included in deliberations affecting the region.
Zam countered that other North-Central senators are also not members of the NCDC committee, citing examples of zonal balancing across various development commissions.
The disagreement highlights ongoing tensions between regional representation expectations and institutional procedure.
If disputes spill beyond the chamber
Committee membership disputes rarely dominate headlines, but when they escalate publicly, they test internal cohesion within the Senate.
If the matter is formally escalated to the Committee on Selection, it may clarify procedural boundaries. If not, it risks becoming another episode in a broader pattern of legislative friction.
For now, the chairman’s position is clear: membership determines invitation.
The chamber may ultimately decide whether that principle remains uncontested.
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