THE senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has submitted a sexual harassment petition against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
As plenary resumed on Wednesday, March 5, after a week’s recess, Akpoti-Uduaghan, citing Order 40 of the Senate Rules, said that she had made comments on Arise TV regarding alleged sexual harassment by Akpabio.
While announcing her decision to formally present the allegations as a petition before the Senate, Akpabio granted her permission to proceed.
The Senate subsequently referred the petition to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, directing it to review the matter as soon as possible.
The ICIR on February 28 reported that Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Akpabio of making sexual advances towards her severally, which she said she turned down.
She said her stance towards the advances was the reason for her incessant conflicts with the Senate President at plenaries within the National Assembly Complex.
The dispute between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio started on February 27, after the former discovered that her seat had been reassigned without prior notice.
Her refusal to move to the new seat led to a tense confrontation with Akpabio, who ordered the sergeant-at-arms to order her out of the chamber.
However, Akpabio denied allegations of sexual harassment brought against him by Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Dismissing the allegations, Senator Akpabio said, “At no time did I ever harass any woman. I was raised very well by my late single mother, and I have always upheld respect for women. I was even awarded the most gender-friendly governor in Nigeria.”
The Senate President, who said he had been inundated with calls on the matter since February 25, and that he was aware of the growing social media discourse, urged Nigerians, the media, and social media users to refrain from drawing conclusions and instead await the court’s decision on the matter.
Meanwhile, supporters of Akpoti-Uduaghan converged at the National Assembly gate on Wednesday morning but were dispersed by police officers with tear gas.
The protesters demanded the immediate resignation of Akpabio over the alleged sexual harassment levelled against him.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.