Akpoti-Uduaghan Not on NCDC Committee – Senator Zam

Senator Titus Zam, chairman of the Senate Committee on the North Central Development Commission (NCDC), has denied that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP-Kogi) is a member of his committee, contradicting her recent claims. The clarification was issued on Tuesday in Abuja following reports that her name was missing from the committee’s attendance register.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had attended the committee’s budget defence with NCDC management on Monday and sought to verify her absence from the register. She was directed to Zam’s office, where the discussion escalated, with Zam explaining that she had not been invited because she is not part of the committee.

Zam said the Kogi Central senator arrived hours after the budget meeting and insisted on raising her complaint. He noted that other senators from Kogi—Sen. Isah Jibrin and Sen. Sunday Karimi—serve on the committee, and that committee membership often rotates among senators from North-Central states to ensure national representation.

The situation also involved a confrontation between aides in Zam’s office and Akpoti-Uduaghan’s media team, during which a cinematographer’s phone was taken. Zam said he advised the senator to take the issue to the Senate Committee on Selection, after which she left his office, ending the dispute.