*Senate president’s wife rises in defense of her husband, debunks claims
*Ireti Kingibe carpets Kogi Senator
Charles Okocha, Sunday Aborisade and Michael Olugbode in Abuja
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan yesterday accused the Senate President Godswill Akpabio of making sexual advances at her.
Reacting to the allegation, Wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, dismissed the allegations of sexual harassment leveled against her husband.
However, former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Atiku Abubukar and the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria (AAN), Mr. Andrew Mamedu, cautioned against dismissing the allegations, as they called for a probe into the matter.
Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that most of the intimate love calls from Akpabio come in the dead of the night and that she usually wakes her husband and puts the conversations on speaker.
Natasha alleged that it was her refusal to yield to the sexual advances from Akpabio that is behind the hatred and antagonism against her.
The Kogi Central Senator made the allegation when she appeared on ‘The Morning Show’ on Arise News Channel in Abuja.
She maintained that her refusal to yield to consistent sexual advances from the Senate President both within and outside the country, was the cause of her victimisation in the Senate.
On the sitting arrangement saga, Akpoti-Uduaghan admitted that the Order 10 of the Senate Rules stipulates that a Senator must speak from his or her seat but that when it comes to the issue of privileges, Senators could speak from anywhere.
Asked why her other three female senators were not forthcoming to speak against her ordeal, Natasha said their reasons were best known to them.
She however, said the Senator representing FCT, Ireti Kingibe, called to condemn her for instituting a defamatory suit against the Senate President.
On the night club comments of the Senate President, Akpoti-Uduaghan said, it was not a slip of tongue because the Senate President had allegedly once suggested to her that he could organise a party in form of a night club where they could have fun.
She likened her predicament in the hands of the Senate President to a young female student who refused sexual advances from her lecturer but vowed to maintain her integrity in the midst of any form of victimisation.
She further alleged that the Senate leadership had once warned her to stop her constant confrontation with the Senate President because if Akpabio goes down, she would also go down with him.
She said, “It all started on the 8th of December 2023, which was a day before his birthday and my birthday, we are birthday mates. We were all in Akwa Ibom because he had a big fanfare in the stadium.
“Myself, my husband and a few of his close friends, we went to Akwa Ibom and at first we were at Ikot Ekpene, where his house is, then we all moved to his house in Uyo. It was about 8 pm and he held my hand and said he wanted to show me around his house.
“My husband was walking behind us. Just three of us. We were walking around from room to room. He showed me the beautiful interior.
“He noticed that he has to be spaced while still holding my hand. My husband was behind still on his phone, but he was watching up whenever he could and then he got to this particular sitting room and he said, do you like my house?
“I said, of course, sir. Every room, beautiful, nice interior, quality taste. He said, now that you’re a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come spend quality moments here. You will enjoy it.
“At that point, I just pulled away and I was like, ‘I don’t really understand what exactly that meant.’ But then my husband when I turned around was already near me, and the way my husband looked at me and looked at him, I was beginning to wonder, did he hear part of that inciting statements or not?
“And then the Senate President too, I saw that he also had that thought like, did my husband hear the invitation to treat or not?
“So then the Senate President now said, oh, by the way, let me show you my chapel. He has a chapel in his house as well.
“So to the chapel. I know we walked in silence and all. So that evening before we left the Senate President’s house at about 11 midnight to the Four Point Hotel, my husband asked me, Natasha, what did the Senate President tell you. What was he telling you?”
Speaking further, she said: “I thought, should I tell him that he was speaking about bringing me in here at a special time for us to have a good time? Or should I just kill it there?
“I just gave him some words to mask what was said. After when we laid in bed to my right and my husband wrapped his hands around me and he said, my love you know you can tell me anything.
“What did the Senate President tell you? Again I was like don’t you believe me? I said nothing, nothing. Moreover, it’s my birthday in a few minutes, let’s just be happy.”
She also denied allegations of corruption contained in a petition by a northern youth group to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, Public Petitions and Code of Conduct.
Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged the petition was sponsored by those who wanted her to be sharing funds meant for Committee works to them.
She said, “N950,000 hit the committee account, and they were asking why we have yet to call for any meetings, so I said leave that money there or is there a problem?
“She (Clerk) said yes, the trend or the norm is that if there is no event or need to utilise the money, we are supposed to share the money. I said, how do you mean? She said the money is usually shared.
“She (Clerk) said, I (Natasha) as a chairperson I will take a part of it I’ll give some to my deputy and the rest of the money will be shared amongst the staff of the Local Content Committee and I was like, did you say that is what happens?
“She said yes, that is what my predecessor did and that is what happens in all the committees in the National Assembly. I said well, you know what, if it’s meant to service the operations of the committee.
“It’s not meant to enrich my pockets. It’s not meant to enrich the pockets of the staff. I would not want to collect this so-called imprest.
“So I would advise that you keep that money in the account and we build the money, we use it for whatever it’s needed.
“If we have to buy office equipment, bring stationery, then we use that money. Anyone who has access to the account number, you can check. We have gradually built the account.
“There was a time I approved the money last year for the purchase of a printer because it made no sense that we kept on spending so much money printing outside.
“I was like, you know what, let us have a printer in-house. We bought a printer. We also have printed lots of materials, but basically the money, I never took a kobo out of that in the name of imprest.
“I never gave my deputy then, who is Senator Ede Dafinone, any imprest. He can verify and attest to that.
“I didn’t take any money because that is taxpayers money and the money was meant to service the office.”
She added: “Now the second allegation there is that I questioned, I harassed the clerk and I tried to, I called for the CVs of the staff.
“Now this is it. I believe the committee was set to oversee the operations of all the IOCs and the national industry players and also strengthen in-country capacity with regards to the oil and gas sector.
“So such a committee needs the services of lawyers and auditors because we have to look at a whole lot of accounts and how monies are being spent, monies that are due to strengthen the educational and training sectors, how they are being spent.
“So one thing again the clerk told me was that we needed the services of an external consultant. And I told her, I was like, why do we have to deploy the services of an external consultant when we have in-house staff?
“The Committee on Local Content had about 10 or 11 staff at the time. And I was like, we should be able to do this job ourselves.
“I am a lawyer. I can do my part wherever one needs to refer to the constitution or to the act as it may.
“I believe we should have supporting lawyers, we should have auditors, we should have accountants amongst the staff. So if that is what they say, harassment, then so be it”
On the seating arrangements, she said, “I walked into the chambers that morning, I signed my attendance sheet and I was walking straight to my usual seat which is the last seat by the door, like at the top most last seat by the aisle.
“I was told by one of the sergeant at arms that I will be sitting at the far end there. And I was like, since when?
“They said, well, that’s what the Senate president directed. I was in chamber Wednesday and I was notified. Why did you change my seat? What’s the reason? I’m comfortable here. I’m okay here. I wasn’t notified of that. So I was upset.”
Meanwhile, the Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio dismissed allegations.
Speaking to journalists, Mrs. Akpabio recounted the cordial relationship that existed between her family and Senator Natasha’s family, as she dismissed the allegations as a figment of wild imaginations. She further maintained that the allegations were unfounded, as she was present at her family residence on the alleged date 8th December, 2023.
Stating that both families enjoy a long-standing cordial relationship that predates Senator Natasha’s marriage to her husband.
Mrs. Akpabio praised her husband’s discipline as a man who loves and respects his family, citing his track record of supporting women’s inclusion in government even before his emergence as Senate President.
She urged women to desist from peddling such false allegations, as she vowed to seek legal redress on the matter.
In the meantime, the lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory in the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, berated her colleague representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, over her outburst over the seating reassignment in the Senate.
Reacting to Natasha’s claim about the seating arrangement, Kingibe, while appearing on Arise News Channel, carpeted the Kogi Senate, saying she doesn’t follow the Senate rules.
Natasha had claimed that the three other female senators have been silent about the seating arrangement row because they don’t want to say anything negative about Natasha.
But Kingibe said, “Silence is golden, especially when one of us is not following the rules, and as women, we did not want to come out publicly to say anything negative about her, and we were hoping all of this will blow over, as a lot of things do.
“The Senate is not a place where we are supposed to fight over trivialities like seating arrangements.”
Kingibe stated that Natasha was not the only lawmaker whose seat was moved, disclosing that other lawmakers were affected by the seating reassignment.
“This is about the rules of the Senate. So if I can point out that other women have been moved several times on that day, I wasn’t there, but I gathered that several men were also moved,” she said.
The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs admitted that though the Senate was not gender-friendly, the situation has improved.
She said, “The truth of the matter is, yes, the Senate is not gender friendly, but it has been improving much better than when we first entered the Senate, I must say.
“The truth of the matter is, when we make a fuss and draw the attention of the Senate president, he corrects it.
“Truly, the Senate can do better than he’s doing, but there’s hardly anything that’s been done to us that’s not done to other men.
“I want women to know we have to follow the rules of the institution we choose to enter, and that is mostly the point of this visit here.”
Atiku Abubukar, however, called for a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into allegations.
In statement he signed, Atiku said, ”Like millions of Nigerians, I watched with deep concern this morning as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan raised serious allegations of sexual harassment, intimidation, and mistreatment against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
”These allegations are grave and deserve a thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation. ‘The Nigerian Senate represents the voice of the people. Those who serve in it — especially its leadership — must uphold the highest standards of integrity, dignity, and respect, both for their office and for the Nigerian citizens they serve.
“As the third most powerful figure in the country, the Senate President should embody unimpeachable character.
”Sexual harassment in the workplace is a significant barrier to women’s advancement and, by extension, the nation’s progress. Allegations of such misconduct should never be simply dismissed, particularly when they involve a public officer with immense power, influence, and responsibility.”
Atiku further said, ”As the chief presiding officer of the Upper Chamber, the Senate President has a duty to champion the protection and empowerment of Nigerian women through legislation — not to be the subject of allegations that undermine those very principles. ‘The handling of this matter will send a strong message about Nigeria’s commitment to justice, accountability, and the inclusion of women in governance.”
Also, the Country Director, AAN, Mr. Andrew Mamedu, who weighed in on the matter, said: “So for us it is a case of those allegations need to be investigated.”
He asked that the right committee should be set up to investigate the allegations.
He said: “So we cannot sweep it under the carpet. We cannot undermine her. She should not be victimised but the allegations should be investigated.
“I am not saying she is right but those allegations should be investigated. So there should not be power over. So the presidency should not put its power on it or the senate leadership may use its power to sweep it under the carpet.
“No. It should be investigated. There is an ethics and privilege committee in the Senate so they should take it up and independently run it.”
