ACTION Collective, a pressure group, has urged the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to honour the invitation of presidential panel reportedly set up to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, when called upon.
In a statement issued on Monday, the group’s coordinator, Onimisi Ibrahim, expressed surprise over Akpabio’s alleged withdrawal from the panel without any official explanation.
“We have gathered that the Senate President cited undue interference by the Executive Arm of government and lack of confidence in the neutrality of the panel as reasons for his decision.
“Is Akpabio saying he lacks confidence in the current presidency or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?” the group queried.
It further stated that Akpabio should either publicly address the allegations or step down as Senate President.
The ICIR, however, gathered that Akpabio’s alleged withdrawal from the panel is a “fake news.”
The Senate President’s media team also said President Bola Tinubu did not set up any presidential panel to probe the allegations.
Responding to the alleged withdrawal from the panel, the Senate President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Eseme Eyibo and the Consultant, Communications & Strategy Office of President of the Senate, Kenny Okolugbo, said the claim was untrue.
Eyibo said, “It is fake news. Ignore it. The senator in question did not petition the Presidency so why should the President be probing a non existing matter before him.
“The matter is an internal affairs of the Senate but the senator in question took it to the court and a Senate Committee which she petitioned had to step the matter down.”
The President of Citizens Quest for Truth, Oby Ndukwe, had on the Sunday edition of Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’ claimed that Akpabio withdrew from the ‘presidential committee.’
Ndukwe said Tinubu inaugurated the panel on April 2 to investigate the allegations that have sparked national outrage and fueled controversy within the National Assembly.
She claimed that Vice President Kashim Shettima chaired the panel. According to her, the panel includes notable members such as the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; the Attorney General of the Federation; and one representative each nominated by Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The ICIR reports that among other Nigerians peeved by the allegation, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) had threatened to storm the National Assembly if Tinubu failed to intervene in the crisis.
The controversy stemmed from weeks of tension between Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan, who accused the Senate President of sexual harassment on a television with a global audience.
In what many perceived as a retaliatory move, the Senate suspended the female lawmaker, who was already having a pending feud with the Senate leadership over seating arrangements.
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.