Abuja: Senator Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District, has distanced himself from reports suggesting that he alleged the forgery of senators’ signatures in connection with the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, insisting that his comments were misrepresented.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior clarified that at no point did he claim that any senator’s signature was forged during the process that led to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
Oshiomhole said the clarification became necessary following what he described as an “obvious misrepresentation” of comments he made during an interview on AIT’s Politics Today programme on Monday, June 15, 2026.
“The insinuation that I said signatures of senators were forged is a complete misrepresentation of what I actually said,” he stated.
The former Edo State governor said he fully agreed with the Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, that no senator’s signature was forged in relation to the suspension matter.
According to him, no senator has ever complained to him that his or her signature was forged.
“I agree absolutely with the spokesperson of the Senate, Distinguished Senator Yomi Adaramodu, that no signature of senators was forged in Natasha Akpoti’s suspension.
This is because no senator complained to me that his or her signature was forged,” Oshiomhole said.
He explained that the only observation he made during the interview was that a senator who served on the relevant committee had claimed that attendance signatures of some senators were attached to the committee’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. Any suggestion that I alleged that any senator’s signature was forged is completely untrue and should be disregarded,” he added.
Oshiomhole further stressed that the controversy surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension had effectively been settled and that the Senate had since moved on from the issue.
He explained that his remarks arose while responding to a claim by the programme’s interviewer that Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele had described the matter as “the lowest point of the three years of the 10th Senate.”
Responding to that assertion during the interview, Oshiomhole said he merely noted that if Bamidele indeed made such a statement, it should be taken seriously given the Senate Leader’s reputation.
“I replied that if indeed the Senate Leader said so, it should be taken seriously because he is not given to frivolities,” he said.
The senator reiterated that no lawmaker had informed him of any forged signature and urged the public to disregard contrary interpretations of his comments.
He also expressed regret over any unintended consequences his remarks may have caused.
“Finally, I regret if my comments may have caused embarrassment to any senator or the 10th Senate as an institution,” Oshiomhole stated.
The clarification comes amid lingering public discussions over the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a matter that has generated significant political debate within and outside the National Assembly.
