Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has formally submitted a s3xual harassment petition against Senate President Godswill Akpabio in the Senate.
Gatekeepers News reports that during a session conducted under order 40 of the Senate rules, Akpoti-Uduaghan referred to comments she made on Arise TV regarding alleged incidents of s3xual harassment by Akpabio, which prompted her to present the matter as an official petition.
Following her statement, Akpabio encouraged her to proceed with the submission.
“Distinguished colleagues, this petition is hereby referred to the committee on code of conduct, ethics and public petitions, which should revert to the senate as soon as possible,” Akpabio said.
However, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, chief whip of the senate, raised an objection against the submission of the petition. He argued that the senate cannot entertain Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition because the case is in court.
Quoting order 40, rule 7, he said “senate should not receive or deliberate on any matter to which actions are pending in the court of law”.
Akpoti-Uduaghan rejected Monguno’s point, arguing that he got the sequence of events wrong.
“This matter is not in court. The matter in court is a defamation against the senate president’s special assistant on social media, Patrick Mfon, who accused me of dressing indecently to the senate,” the Kogi lawmaker said.
Opeyemi Bamidele, the senate leader, also debated against the submission of the petition.
“We cannot relax our rules. This petition cannot stand. It is in court. It is defective. There is no way we can accept this petition,” Bamidele stated.
Subsequently, the Senate leader proposed that the session move into a closed meeting. This led to a brief disruption within the chamber, but order was eventually restored. Despite the resolution, Akpoti-Uduaghan chose to stage a walkout during the proceeding.
This isn’t the first time tensions have arisen between the two; on February 20, Akpoti-Uduaghan had a disagreement with Akpabio concerning seating arrangements, which resulted in her being referred to the Senate’s disciplinary panel for further action. Additionally, on February 25, she filed a defamation lawsuit against the Senate president.
