“How I Endured Akpabio’s Sexual Advances for over One Year,” Natasha Speaks
- Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has alleged that her suspension was a direct consequence of rejecting persistent sexual advances from Senate President Godswill Akpabio
- The suspended Kogi lawmaker claimed that Akpabio repeatedly told her that she must "please him" to fully enjoy her rights and privileges as a senator
- Akpoti-Uduaghan spoke on Wednesday, in an interview granted to a British British television station, where she compared her treatment to male senators
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
The suspended lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has narrated how she spent over a year enduring the alleged sexual advances of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Source: Facebook
The senator reiterated during the interview with the popular British television station, Sky News, on Wednesday, March 19, where she reiterated that her suspension was a direct consequence of her outcry against Akpabio’s alleged sexual harassment and not the gross misconduct the Senate reported.
According to Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senate president continually told her that she must “please him” if she wanted to enjoy her privileges and perks of office as a Senator.
She said:
“I made an allegation of sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on March 5, 2025, and the very next day, I was suspended for six months. I believe my suspension is illegal, unjust, and just a way of silencing me.
“I experienced sexual harassment over the past year in the hands of the Senate President, and this sexual harassment, because I refused to yield to his demands, turned into malice whereby my rights and privileges as a senator were deprived.
“I found the courage to speak up; yes, the breaking point was moving me from that seat; I have had to endure a whole lot in silence.”
Natasha condemns unequal treatment in Senate
Source: Twitter
To further back up her claim, the Kogi legislator recalled that she has witnessed some male colleagues fighting, screaming, and insulting one another with no sanction meted out.
As reported by The Punch, Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that using her as a scapegoat only reflects the hypocrisy and double standards in the Senate.
She said:
“I have seen in that chamber where men fight, where Senators throw items at each other, curse each other, shout at each other, but they were not suspended. Why? Because they were men. Things got difficult for me; I was always complaining.
“My husband would actually walk up to him because they are friends, saying, ‘My wife has a very important bill, her constituency needs this, why don’t you give her a chance to speak? And he would tell me, ‘Next time. So he deliberately kept on denying me this.
“Each time I walked to him he’d tell me, ‘Right here I am the chief presiding officer of the National Assembly, so you have to please me, make me happy to get these privileges.’ And that happened several times because I refused. It developed into malice. Which other way was I supposed to make my voice heard?”
Legit.ng earlier also reported that Senate President Godswill Akpabio accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of distorting the facts and misrepresenting the Senate on the international scene.
Akpabio commented while speaking after the senators passed a vote of confidence on him during plenary on Thursday, March 13.
The Kogi Central senator, who was suspended for six months for violating the Senate rules, reported Akpabo and the Senate, alleging that she was sexually harassed.
Her appearance as a guest on Sky News comes barely one week after Akpoti-Uduaghan's appeal at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was acknowledged by its president, Tulia Ackson.
Read more about Senate, Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan saga:
- “Senate is like a cult”: Natasha shares instances of alleged sexual harassment by Akpabio
- Alleged sexual harassment: Ebira women hail Nwebonyi’s testimony, say Akpabio is vindicated
Natasha saga: Court backs Senate’s disciplinary process
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja gave a fresh order on the Nigerian Senate's disciplinary process against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The judge, Obiora Egwuatu, lifted its earlier injunction restraining the Senate from suspending the Kogi Central Senator.
The FCT high court cleared the way for the Senate’s disciplinary process against Akpoti-Uduaghan over alleged misconduct.
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Source: Legit.ng
