The Nigerian Senate has removed Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the country’s delegation to a United Nations Women’s event and replaced her with a male senator, a move that has sparked reactions in political circles.

The country’s delegation to the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), currently being held in New York.

The event, which began on 9 March and will end on 19 March at the United Nations headquarters, focuses on improving access to justice for women and girls and accelerating gender equality.

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Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was removed from Nigeria’s delegation list and replaced by a male senator, Adeniyi Adegbonmire, despite the event focusing on women’s issues.

25 February, during a meeting of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan complained that she had been sidelined and removed from the list of delegates expected to attend the women’s event at the UN headquarters, even though she had submitted the required documents.

The senator explained that she was initially invited by the Ministry of Women Affairs to be part of Nigeria’s delegation and was asked to submit the photo page of her international passport.

She said she sent the requested passport details within a few hours, but later received a response from the ministry, stating that she would no longer be attending because the details were submitted late.

In a letter dated 5 March addressed to the Kogi senator, Mrs Kingibe explained that the Ministry of Women Affairs had yet to respond to the delegation’s sponsorship request.

However, Mrs Kingibe noted that the Senate had agreed to sponsor her and Ondo Central Senator, Adeniyi Adegbonmire, to attend the women’s event.

“For the sake of clarity, I can confirm that at this stage, only two members of the Senate have been officially nominated by the Senate President and have confirmed registration: myself, in my capacity as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, and Senator Adegbonmire Adeniyi Ayodele, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters. To the best of my knowledge, we are currently the only Senators whose attendance is finalised and registered,” the letter reads.

She apologised for any inconvenience the development might have caused and urged Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan to join the delegation personally if she already had a valid United States visa.

Effort to contacte Mrs Kingibe and the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, to clarify the criteria for selecting delegates and explain why a male senator was included in the delegation to an event focused on women, at a time when Nigerian women are demanding greater political inclusion.

Mrs Kingibe did not respond to calls and messages as of the time of filing this report. Mr Adaramodu’s phone wasn’t connecting.

However, a staff member of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, who requested not to be named for fear of victimisation, told our reporter that the Senate leadership removed Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan from the delegation because of concerns that she might raise controversial issues at the event and potentially tarnish the country’s image.

While the Senate leadership has yet to provide detailed reasons for the change, observers say the replacement has raised questions given the event’s focus on women’s issues. The development is already generating debate among stakeholders and advocacy groups who believe female representation at such forums is important.