Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, deputy senate chief whip, says Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator representing Kogi central, is not among Nigeria’s most beautiful women to warrant claims of sexual harassment.
Nwaebonyi spoke on Wednesday in an interview with News Central TV.
He also alleged that Akpoti-Uduaghan had a history of making accusations to manipulate situations in her favour.
“She accused Reno Omokri of sexual harassment during the time of Goodluck Jonathan as president when the young man was already in U.S. attending to national issues,” he said.
“But, unlucky to her, she didn’t know that this young man was outside the country. Upon a slightest provocation, she will come up with allegation of sexual harassment.
“And I don’t know what is wrong with this lady. Does she think that she’s the most beautiful woman on earth? Or is it because she’s that chocolate colour?
“In my own assessment, she’s not among the beautiful women in Nigeria. And it is high time we came down hard on her.
“And why people like us are speaking on top of her voice is not just to protect and defend the senate president but to protect and defend her future victims.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexually harassing her.
The allegation came in the wake of an altercation between Akpabio and the Kogi central senator at the red chamber over seating arrangements.
She was subsequently suspended from the senate for six months for “gross misconduct” over the incident.
Days later, some Kogi central constituents initiated Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall from the upper chamber, accusing her of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceitful behaviour”.
The senator has denied wrongdoing and called the recall effort a “coordinated suppression” of her voice.
