The allegation of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, yesterday, caused a stir in the polity.
Described by some as national embarrassment that should be probed by some stakeholders, wife of the President of the Senate, Mrs Ekaette Akpabio, however took a swipe at Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying that her husband is disciplined.
Calling the Kogi Central, People’s Democratic Party, PDP, senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, a liar, Mrs Akpabio threatened to sue the lawmaker over the allegations.
Natasha, who had a spat with the Senate President over relocation of her seat in the Senate Chamber, had in a television interview on Arise television, yesterday, claimed her issue with Akpabio started on December 8, 2023, when she and her husband attended a pre-birthday invitation extended by the Senate President at his residence in Uyo.
“We had earlier gone to his house at Ikot-Ekpene, and he held my hand and said he wanted to show me around his house. I noticed he hastened his pace while still holding my hand, and he got to this particular sitting room.
“He asked ‘do you like my house?’ and I replied, ‘of course yes,’ and he said, ‘now that you are a Senator, you are going to create time for us to spend quality time here and you will enjoy it’.
“Later, on the floor of the Senate, I attempted to raise a motion regarding corrupt practices at the Ajaokuta Steel Company. I listed this motion five times, and it was only on the sixth occasion that it appeared on the order paper. When I approached the Senate President to inquire as to why my motion had been repeatedly stepped down, he told me, ‘Natasha, I am 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 told him that I would pretend I didn’t hear that. My case is a case of a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him.”