Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has stated that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio once asked her if her not wearing a wedding ring was an invitation to treat.
The Senator representing Kogi Central stated this during an interview with BBC on Tuesday, March 18, adding that her recent six-month suspension was a deliberate attempt to silence her.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had alleged Akpabio of sexual harassment, however, she was subsequently suspended by the ethics committee.
Recounting one of the moments of alleged sexual harassment from Akpabio, prior to the clash between them, she said:
“I am being victimised. My suspension is a means of silencing me,” Akpoti-Uduaghan stated.
The senator’s suspension, which took effect on March 6, was handed down for what was termed “gross misconduct” after she failed to appear before the Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee.
Her suspension followed a heated confrontation with Senator Akpabio during a plenary session last month.
Akpoti-Uduaghan has since accused Akpabio of sexually harassing her, alleging that he made inappropriate advances both inside and outside the Senate chambers.
She recounted an incident at Akpabio’s country home, where she claimed he held her hand in a “suggestive way.”
“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, we know what it means when a man squeezes our hands in a suggestive way,” she said.
When asked if Akpabio had made advances towards her inside the Senate chamber, she recalled another incident. “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.”
However, Senate Deputy Chief Whip Onyekachi Nwaebonyi who reacted to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s interview dismissed the allegations, stating that Akpabio had never made sexual advances or inappropriate comments toward Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“Senator Natasha’s legislative activities show this claim is not true,” Nwaebonyi told the BBC, also rejecting her assertion that the Senate was deliberately silencing her.
The controversy surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension has sparked debate on the treatment of female lawmakers in Nigerian politics.
Critics argued that the lack of openness within the Senate discourages accountability and stifles dissenting voices.
Others, however, maintain that disciplinary measures against lawmakers should not be politicised.
As the fallout from these allegations continues, the Nigerian Senate faces renewed scrutiny over issues of gender dynamics, internal governance, and the freedom of lawmakers to express their views without fear of retribution.
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