Former presidential spokesperson, Laolu Akande, expressed concerns on Thursday over what he perceives as efforts to silence Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central. Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, a claim that Akpabio has strongly denied.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Akande condemned the actions of certain members of the Senate, calling for an end to what he described as a “gang up” against Akpoti-Uduaghan. He stressed the need for the Senate to objectively address her allegations rather than dismiss them prematurely.
“They need to stop all these images, meetings, and ganging up against this woman. That has to stop. The leadership of the Senate needs to show us that there is going to be a dispassionate consideration of her allegations,” Akande stated.
He added, “Once that is sorted, if you think that there is a need to punish her for violating the rules, it is the better way to handle it. This idea of all of the men coming out and brandishing the rules is not looking pretty at all.”
Akande emphasized that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual harassment claim should be taken seriously, cautioning that the Senate must be careful not to create the impression that it was attempting to silence her. “What we have been seeing so far is a lot of men holding meetings, speaking out, coming to the media to run this woman down. It is a poor reflection on the Nigerian Senate.”
However, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, representing Ebonyi North, defended the Senate, suggesting that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s actions were more about personal grievances than legitimate harassment. He claimed that the lawmaker’s sexual harassment accusations stemmed from her loss of the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Local Content, a position she felt comfortable with.
Nwaebonyi explained, “Senator Natasha was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, which she felt she was comfortable with. But in the Senate, from time to time, committee leadership is changed; reshuffled and her committee was affected like every other chairmen. She was shifted to the Senate Committee on Diaspora, which didn’t go down well with Senator Natasha.”
Amid the allegations, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition against Akpabio on Wednesday. It declared the claims “dead on arrival,” citing procedural violations and legal constraints.
The ongoing controversy continues to divide opinions within the Senate, with some defending Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations, while others dismiss them as politically motivated.
