Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, has claimed her troubles in the Senate started after she rejected Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s sexual advances.
Speaking during an interview with Arise TV on Friday, Akpoti-Uduaghan compared her experience to that of a student being unfairly punished by a lecturer for refusing to give in to inappropriate demands.
“My case is a case of a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him,” she said.
The senator also addressed the controversy surrounding her sitting arrangement in the chamber. She acknowledged that Order 10 of the Senate Rules states that senators must speak from their assigned seats. However, she argued that when it comes to issues of privilege, lawmakers are allowed to speak from anywhere in the chamber.
On why other female senators have not publicly supported her, Akpoti-Uduaghan suggested they had their own reasons for staying silent. However, she revealed that Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the Federal Capital Territory, had privately called her—not to offer support, but to criticize her for filing a defamation lawsuit against Akpabio.
The Kogi senator also responded to Akpabio’s previous nightclub comments, in which he had jokingly referred to the Senate as a nightclub. She dismissed claims that it was a slip of the tongue, alleging instead that the Senate President had once personally suggested organizing a private party in a nightclub setting for them to “have fun.”
Furthermore, Akpoti-Uduaghan denied allegations of corruption raised in a petition by a northern youth group, which was submitted to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, Public Petitions, and Code of Conduct. She alleged that the petition was orchestrated by individuals who wanted her to divert committee funds for their benefit.
