Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has recounted an incident involving Senate President Godswill Akpabio, amid allegations of sexual harassment against him.
When asked during an interview with BBC on Tuesday whether Akpabio had made advances towards her inside the Senate chamber, she recalled an instance when she forgot to wear her wedding ring to work.
“There was a time when I rushed to work and forgot to wear my ring. There were about five senators there. He said, ‘Oh Natasha, you are not wearing your ring, is this an invitation to treat?’ You know, statements like this.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate on March 6 for “gross misconduct” following a disagreement with Akpabio over seating arrangements, alleged that the Senate President had harassed her.
“I am being victimised. My suspension is a way to silence me,” she said.
She also noted “We were at his country home. He was taking me around his house. My husband was walking behind us. He held my hand.
“He then squeezed my hands in a very suggestive way. We, women, know what it means when a man squeezes our hands in a suggestive way.
“And he went, ‘Now that you’re in the Senate, I’ll make an opportunity for us to come here and have a good moment,’ you know, along that line.”
However, the Senate’s Deputy Chief Whip, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, refuted the allegations, stating that Akpabio never made any advances toward her.
He also dismissed her claims that the Senate was attempting to silence her, insisting that her legislative activities proved otherwise.
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