Zam denies snub allegation, says Natasha not member of North Central committee

Titus Zam, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), has dismissed allegations surrounding a reported altercation involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and one of his aides, insisting that she was neither a member of the committee nor invited to the budget defence session in question.

Zam, reacting to the incident that occurred after the committee’s budget defence meeting, said Senator Natasha was not eligible to attend the session as she does not belong to the committee.

On Monday, drama unfolded shortly after the budget defence session as Akpoti-Uduaghan, reportedly, confronted the office of the committee chairman over the scheduling of the meeting in her absence.

The session, scheduled for 10 am, ended shortly after 11 am. Akpoti-Uduaghan reportedly arrived around noon and expressed displeasure that the exercise had concluded before her arrival.

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She allegedly stormed out of the committee room and proceeded to the chairman’s office after a brief confrontation with some committee staff.

At the chairman’s office, she was said to have had an altercation with the secretary, while one of her aides brought out a phone to record the exchange. An aide to Zam reportedly seized the phone, which triggered further tension.

Responding to the altercation, Zam said, “No, no. She’s not a member of the committee and was not invited to the budget defence meeting.”

He explained that representation on development commission committees is structured to reflect the principle of national character, noting that not all senators from a particular geopolitical zone automatically become members of the commission overseeing that zone.

“Two senators from Kogi are members indeed. Senator Sani Jibrin is my Vice Chairman of NCDC, while Senator Sunny Karimi is a member,” he stated.

Zam further clarified that several other senators from the North Central zone were also not members of the NCDC committee, stressing that membership cuts across regions to ensure balance.

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“Many other North Central senators are not members because senators from other zones in Nigeria are mixed up in all the development commission committees for the purpose of national character. For example, Senator Pam from Plateau State too is not a member of NCDC, because Senators Plang and Lalong are members,” he said.

According to Zam, Senator Natasha arrived several hours after the budget defence session had ended to protest her exclusion from the meeting.

“After the budget defence meeting, Sen Natasha came several hours later to complain about not being invited. I told her she’s not a member, so she couldn’t have been invited,” he said.

He added that during the exchange, she insisted that as a senator from the North Central zone, she ought to have been included in the committee.

“She, as usual, ignorantly claimed that being from North Central Nigeria, she ought to have been a member. A brief argument ensued, and I told her to approach the Senate ‘Committee on Selection’ and lodge her complaint. After a back and forth movement, she left my office,” Zam stated.