The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has stated that the sexual harassment allegations against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan only emerged after her seat and committee were changed in the Senate.
Akpabio revealed this on Friday while speaking at a ceremony to mark the 2025 International Women’s Day at the National Assembly in Abuja.
According to him, despite Senator Natasha’s claim that the alleged sexual harassment occurred on 8 December 2023, no one, including her husband, was aware of it until recently.
He noted that Natasha only brought the allegations to public attention after her seat and committee were changed.
Akpabio, however, explained that changes in seating arrangements and committee assignments are regular activities in the Nigerian Senate, adding that his fellow lawmakers could attest to it.
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He said, “It was only yesterday I realised that what we are talking about happened only after the change of seat in the Senate. That was when all hell was let loose, and all sorts of allegations came up—only after the change of seat and change of committee, which my senators know happen from time to time.
“It was said to have happened on the 8th of December, a day before my birthday, which was celebrated in the stadium in 2023. So, from 8 December 2023, I never heard, my wife never heard, no Nigerian ever heard. Even the husband never heard any issue of sexual harassment until her committee was changed, and then her seat was changed, and she went on. Have you ever wondered about the trauma caused by that same woman to the other people she has accused?”
Tribune Online reports that after the submission of a report by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct recommending the Kogi Central senator’s suspension, the Senate imposed a six-month suspension on Natasha over her shouting match with the Senate President.
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