Senate President Godswill Akpabio has criticised Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, lawmaker representing Kogi central, for raising sexual harassment allegations against him at an international parliamentary conference.
Speaking during a plenary session on Thursday, Akpabio said Akpoti-Uduaghan “attempted to embarrass Nigeria” by addressing the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference in New York.
“She has externalised the matter by attempting to embarrass the Federal Republic of Nigeria by going to give a narrative at the IPU-UN event — totally different from what occurred in the senate,” Akpabio said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had told the conference on Tuesday that she was “illegally suspended” from the senate after submitting a petition accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment.
Akpabio dismissed her claims, saying the senator allegedly bypassed internal parliamentary mechanisms and the judiciary by taking her allegations to the international stage.
“We have our own internal mechanisms of resolving issues in Nigeria. Outside this parliament, we also have the judiciary, and she is already standing before it,” Akpabio said.
“Even here, she has brought a petition but has not allowed us to look into it. She went to court but has not allowed the court to look into it. Now, she has taken the matter to the international community, and she may not even allow them to look into it. She may decide to run to… I don’t know where.
“The reality is that we remain resolute. We are law-abiding. We operate through the rules of the Senate, which is an extension of the powers and privileges given to us by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He also thanked Kafilat Ogbara, a member of the house of representatives, who held a press conference to counter Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims, urging the international media to avoid “misrepresenting” Nigeria.
