A session of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions turned heated on Tuesday when Senator Onyekachi Nwoebonyi and former Minister of Education Obiageli Ezekwesili exchanged insults.
The confrontation erupted during a hearing on Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual harassment allegation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently serving a six-month suspension for misconduct, was absent but represented by her lawyer, Dr. Abiola Akinyode, and petitioner Zubairu Yakubu.
Tensions rose when Yakubu attempted to speak while committee chairman Senator Neda Imasuen was addressing the session. Imasuen instructed Yakubu to mute his microphone, but Ezekwesili intervened, a move Nwoebonyi perceived as disrespectful to senators.
As Nwoebonyi expressed his displeasure, Ezekwesili told him to “compose yourself and stop making noise.” Enraged, Nwoebonyi retorted, “You are a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You are an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here.”
ALSO READ: Natasha vs Akpabio: Senate throws out fresh petition
In response, Ezekwesili called the senator a “hooligan,” and their heated exchange nearly derailed the session.
The hearing made little progress before the committee abruptly ended it, citing the fact that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition was already before a law court.
During the session, Akinyode demanded that Imasuen recuse himself from presiding, arguing that he had previously dismissed the petition as “dead on arrival.” Imasuen clarified that he was referring to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s first petition, which did not meet Senate rules.
He then invoked Senate Order 47 to discontinue the hearing on the second petition, as the matter was already in court.
The session concluded with the committee closing the case.
and then