Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central labelled the Nigerian Senate a “cult,” where legislators are afraid to speak out in opposition for fear of being assaulted.
In a BBC interview, Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only four women members of the 109-member Senate, claimed victimization following suspension on March 6 for “gross misconduct.”
She was suspended following a seating arrangement dispute with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
“I am being victimized. My suspension is a means of silencing me,” she told BBC reporter Yemisi Adegoke.
The senator also accused Akpabio of sexually harassing her, recalling an incident at his country home when he allegedly made suggestive overtures towards her in front of her husband.
“He took my hand and squeezed it in a very suggestive way. We women, we know what it means when a man does that,” she said.
She also recalled another incident in the Senate chamber when she had forgotten to put on her wedding ring.
“He said, ‘Oh Natasha, you are not wearing your ring. Is this an invitation to treat?’ There were about five senators there,” she revealed.
Against her claims, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, the Senate’s Deputy Chief Whip, soundly rejected the claims, stating categorically that Akpabio never made any improper advances on Akpoti-Uduaghan—neither in his home nor in the Senate chamber.
He also refuted that the Senate was trying to silence her.
“Senator Natasha’s legislative activities attest to this fact being false,” Nwaebonyi told the BBC.
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