Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has claimed that the removal of former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joy Nunieh, was influenced by the late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari.
Akpabio made the revelation on Friday during an event held in the former Senate chamber at the National Assembly complex to mark International Women’s Day.
According to Akpabio, who was the then Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, his decision to remove Nunieh as NDDC acting MD was based on concerns over her credentials, which were raised by Kyari.
He stated that he received a letter from Kyari indicating that Nunieh’s credentials were questionable and that she had not undergone the one-year compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme upon graduation.
Akpabio further stated that he decided to remove her after confirming the status of her certificate from NYSC.
“When I received a letter from the late Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff, stating that her certificates were questionable and she did not do National Youth Service, I wrote to the NYSC, and the NYSC responded. So I quickly changed her before it became a scandal.”
He also refuted the allegations of sexual harassment against him by Nunieh, describing them as baseless.
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“As soon as she was changed, hell was let loose. She first said Akpabio wanted me to swear an oath of allegiance in the Villa, and they told her that the way the Villa is wired— The next thing, she came out and said, ‘He tried to touch me, and I slapped him. I am the first woman in the Niger Delta to slap him.’ So Ruben Abati now said, ‘Is it like sexual harassment or rape?’ She said, ‘No, not rape, maybe something like that.’ He said, ‘Sexual harassment?’ and she said, ‘Yes, sexual harassment.’”
He, however, threatened to sue the former acting NDDC boss over the accusation, saying that crime never dies.
“My other sister, the one they sometimes refer to as Joy Nunieh, I will like to mention her name because she will be hearing from my lawyer anytime in the next one week. Crime never dies.”
In July 2020, Nunieh alleged that she slapped Akpabio in response to his alleged attempt to assault her.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV at the time, she said, “Why did he not tell Nigerians that I slapped him in his guest house at Apo? I am the only Ogoni woman, the only Nigerian woman that has slapped him. I slapped him because of his plan B. Since he couldn’t get me to take that money, he thought that he could come up on me.”
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