Imaan Suleiman, minister of women affairs and social welfare has said she will intervene in the suspension of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi Central.
Gatekeepers News reports that the senate suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months on Thursday, 6th March 2025.
The suspension followed a clash between her and Senate President Godswill Akpabio over a seating arrangement, which later escalated into Natasha accusing Akpabio of s*xually harassing her.
Speaking with State House correspondents on Friday, the minister of women affairs expressed displeasure over the s*xual harassment controversy
Imaan said such incidents should not have happened in the national assembly, adding that her ministry would engage with the senate to facilitate reconciliation and resolve the issue amicably.
She said, “We don’t want to be losing any member in the Senate or House of Assembly. We want to increase the numbers. It is unfortunate.”
“We’re going to be brokering peace. We will engage all the stakeholders to ensure that they temper justice with mercy.”
The minister noted that during her visit to the national assembly on Thursday, Akpabio said the upper legislative chamber “was open to broker peace.”
Imaan further said Nigeria must accelerate efforts to increase women’s representation in governance and ensure they have a seat at the table.
She said, “I was at the national assembly yesterday (Thursday) at the senate, where they marked International Women’s Day, and the last thing the president of the senate said was that— we’re open to broker peace.”
“So, we’re going to be intermediaries between the two parties to see that we broker for peace to reign, and we will continue to also sensitise so that we would like to work better together as women and men.”
