FIRST Lady, Oluremi Tinubu’s recent remarks defending the Senate handling of sexual harassment allegations against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, have continued to spark concerns, particularly in the light of her previous experience with a similar case.
Despite previously accusing the Senate of failing to act when she allegedly faced threats of rape and violence from Dino Melaye, a former senator who represented Kogi West, the Nigerian president’s wife has now reacted differently when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, made similar allegation against Senator Akpabio.
Reacting to the allegation ahead of International Women’s Day, On March 6, Tinubu backed the Senate’s handling of the sexual allegation, insisting that the lawmakers were “doing what is needful.”
Instead of calling for a proper investigation like she did in her case with Melaye, the First Lady, a former senator who represented Lagos Central between 2011 and 2023, said the chamber was a “mature chamber.”
“I know with what is going on in the Senate, you may say, why am I not taking a position? I believe that the Senate is doing what is needful because that’s what it is. It is an inside place and it’s a matured chamber, and it should be treated with respect. It’s an honour for you to be in that place alone.
“I was there for 12 years, even in my younger days, and I’m still trying to look young, but people compliment you all the time, only that, women raise yourself, don’t be in a position that men will be talking to you anyhow,” she was quoted to have said in a statement by her media aide, Busola Kukoyi.
Her comments came after the Senate suspended Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months over what it described as a violation of its rules, following her protest on the seat relocation in the chamber and her subsequent public accusation that Akpabio sexually harassed her.
Natasha’s case
The crisis began on February 20, when Akpoti-Uduaghan protested a reassignment of her seat in the Senate chamber without prior notice. She resisted the change, calling it an attempt to silence her, while Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno, justified the move, citing Senate rules and party affiliations.
Her protest led to a heated exchange with Akpabio, who ordered the sergeant-at-arms to send her out of the chamber.
This led to the Senate referring her to the Ethics Committee for disciplinary review, which later recommended her suspension.
Amid the dispute, in an interview on Arise Television, the Kogi Central senator accused Akpabio of making repeated sexual advances at her, which she said she rejected.
She alleged that her refusal was the reason behind their frequent clashes at plenary sessions.
According to her, some of Akpabio’s proposals were made with her on the phone and face-to-face in her husband’s presence. She further alleged that she had all the evidence for her claims.
Although the lawmaker, on Wednesday, March 5, submitted an official petition regarding the sexual harassment and abuse of office by Akpabio, the Ethics Committee threw out the petition, citing key procedural oversights that allegedly undermined the petition’s legitimacy.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, however, resubmitted the petition shortly before her suspension, but there have been no updates on its status. Following a vote of confidence passed on Akpabio by the Senate on Thursday, March 13 – the first day the Senate sat after Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension – many Nigerians are already doubting if her petition against Akpabio could be fairly investigated.
In 2016, Senator Tinubu petitioned the Senate and the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that Melaye’s threats against her should not be ignored. She also wrote to the Inspector General of Police at the time, Ibrahim Idris, for “adequate security” over the incident.
According to a Premium Times report, the two senators, both members of the ruling APC, had a heated altercation during a closed-door Senate session in 2016.
In separate letters addressed to the then Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and then APC national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, Tinubu condemned the Senate’s inaction, arguing that ignoring such “threatening misconduct” by Melaye would set a dangerous precedent and undermine the institution’s integrity.
At the time, she also insisted that her party, the APC, had a duty to investigate and hold its members accountable, warning that failure to do so would harm the party’s public image.
While giving her account of the incident, she explained that she was recognised to speak by the Senate President following Melaye’s remarks, in which he allegedly criticised some colleagues for their perceived involvement in a judicial case against the Senate leadership.
She stated that although she remained silent and did not interrupt Melaye’s speech, Melaye attempted to suppress her right to by shouting at her and cutting her off.
“In a burst of apparent rage, Senator Melaye charged at me in what can only be seen as an effort to attack me. The attack was only prevented by some respectful senators who moved to impede his path or otherwise block him from approaching closer towards me. I thank those senators for their personal courage and sense of decorum.
“Senator Melaye hurled foul and vulgar language at me. What he said should never be heard in any public institution let alone the floor of the Senate.
“Denigrating me as a woman, Senator Melaye threatened to beat me on the floor of the Senate just because I dared to express my opinion different from his.
“I am a ranking senator and a woman. But Senator Melaye took neither into consideration as he issued threats of rape and assaults, while boasting he would face no consequence even if he fulfilled these criminal threats,” Tinubu narrated.
She was also reported to have said that during the session, Melaye used “blatantly sexist and misogynistic language” that she deemed offensive not only to women across Nigeria but also to anyone who believes gender discrimination should have no place in the country’s future.
But addressing a press conference after the accusation, Melaye confirmed that he had an altercation with her after she called him a ‘dog,’ but dismissed using an “insolent, abusive, degrading and mannerless language against any senator.”
Although The ICIR could not confirm if the incident led to any disciplinary actions against either Melaye or Tinubu, it was reported that Saraki (the Senate President at the time) met with the two lawmakers to sheathe their swords in the spirit of reconciliation.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M