KOGI Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has said she has been maligned, victimised, and denied privileges because she refused an inappropriate relationship with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Senator Natasha made this claim on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday – today, February 28 – while explaining the reason, according to her, behind her widely publicised frosty relationship with the Senate President, insisting that the attacks on her stemmed from her refusal to be in an inappropriate relationship with the Senate President.
Stressing this point, the senator accused Akpabio of blocking her motion because she refused to engage in an inappropriate affair with him.
A recent altercation between Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio over seating arrangements on the Senate floor, she said, was not the cause of the challenges she has had in the Senate.
Senator Natasha narrated her ordeal with Senator Akpabio, arguing that “The Senate President made a mistake by not allowing me to speak on that Order 10.”
“The Senate President has the right to allocate seats, and senators should adhere, but for a senator to invoke Order 10, it means their privileges have been trampled upon, and that can be raised anywhere at any time.
“So, once a senator shouts Order 10, even if they are being dragged on the floor, they are supposed to be heard.
“Once I raised Order 10, the Senate President ought to have allowed me to speak. He could have used his discretion to move that complaint to the Ethics and Privileges Committee or overrule it, but he failed to do that. Instead, he ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove me from the chambers and prepare for my suspension.
“I did mention that in the Senate, I have been dehumanized, maligned, and all that, and I believe that this situation was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Many people do not know what I’m about to say, and I’m going to speak my truth while the Senate President is allowed to counter it.
“It all started on December 8, 2023, a day before my birthday and his. We were all in Akwa Ibom, and he held my hand, saying he wanted to show me around his house. My husband was walking behind us.
“I noticed that he hastened his pace while still holding my hand, and then he got to a particular sitting room and said, ‘Do you like my house?’ I said, ‘Of course, sir, every room is beautiful.’ He then said, ‘Now that you are a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come and spend quality moments here—you will enjoy it.’
“When I turned to look at my husband to see if he had heard that or not, the Senate President also turned and said, ‘Let me show you my chapel as well.’
“That evening, we left his house at about 11 PM, and my husband asked what the Senate President told me. I wondered whether I should tell him what the Senate President said about bringing me there to ‘have a good time’ or if I should just let it go because I knew how much my husband adored him.
“In February, I wanted to move a motion for the investigation of anti-corruption practices at Ajaokuta Steel Company. I listed that motion five times, but it was only on the sixth attempt that it was approved. Many senators can testify to that. Each time the motion was listed, he would say, ‘Senator Natasha, we can’t take this motion because the good of the Senate does not accommodate it.’
“He kept doing that, so I went to his office and said, ‘You know how important the Ajaokuta Steel Company is to me and my people. I’ve noticed that you have repeatedly stepped down this motion.’ He replied, ‘Natasha, I’m the Chief Presiding Officer of the Senate. You can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me and make me happy.’
“At that point, I said I would pretend I didn’t hear that. He then said, ‘The ball is in your court.’ When I got home, I told my husband to speak to the Senate President to allow my motion to go through.
“You know when a student keeps failing because they refuse to sleep with a lecturer? That is exactly what I have been facing, in simple terms.
“Regarding the nightclub incident, I believe that was not a slip of the tongue. He had told me that there are a number of ways we can have fun if we travel,” she said.
Akpabio reacted on Tuesday during plenary by blaming lawmakers who reclaimed their electoral mandate through the courts, for such issues as Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s, in the Senate.
Insisting that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan would face disciplinary action over her outburst regarding seat re-allocation, the Senate President explained that the altercation between him and Akpoti-Uduaghan stemmed from a lack of understanding of the Senate guidelines, and directed the National Assembly management to organise periodic orientation for such Senators.
“I think part of the problem is when people come from court… court-declared Senators (who) missed the orientation,” Akpabio said.
“The management of the National Assembly is hereby ordered to organise periodic orientation, particularly for Senators who are mid-streamers, who came midstream and did not start when their colleagues started.
“I remember that this particular Senator (Natasha), on the day she was sworn in, raised her hand to speak. I was scared, but I had to recognise her, because I was saying we just gave her the rule book.
“Part of what we give to you when you are sworn in is the standing order of the Senate. I asked if she opened the Rule Book to know what to say, but she made a contribution on that day. I think two days later she brought a motion.
“There is nothing wrong in being vibrant, but there is a lot wrong when you don’t know anything about the procedure.”
Meanwhile, Senate Akpoti-Uduaghan has sued the Senate President for N100 billion.
In the suit filed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Akpabio and Mfon Patrick, his legislative aide, made defamatory comments against her.
She, therefore, asked the court to compel the respondents to withdraw the defamatory comments and apologise to her in a national newspaper.
In February 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC), winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial District election.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the polls, Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a petition seeking to nullify the election over “irregularities”.
The National Assembly Petitions Tribunals upheld the prayers of the PDP candidate and nullified Sadiku-Ohere’s election.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja later affirmed Akpoti-Uduaghan as winner of the election.
She was sworn in November 2023.
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