House Torn In Sexual Harassment Scandal, Is This ‘’God’s Will’’ For Nigerian Senate?

If you are a lover of soap opera or reality TV, it is well worth tuning in to the goings on at the Nigerian Senate in the past week, this you would agree does not happen every day not even once in a blue moon.

Nigerians over the years have seen some dramatic twists from protests to persistent hardship to mention a few, but the sexual harassment scandal rocking the Nigerian Senate is already looking like a mystery. Not only has the scandal descended into a major chaos that has divided a lot of Nigerians, it has also made Nigeria once again a case story for the ‘’wrongest’’ of reasons.

Nigerian Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, sparking protests in parts of Abuja and drawing attention to an institution that even before the scandal was among Nigeria’s most disliked.

It all began with a dispute over the Senate’s seating arrangement.

“As a senator duly elected by my people, I choose to remain in this seat, no matter what. The worst you can do is suspend me,” Akpoti-Uduaghan said while confronting Akpabio, the third-highest elected official in Nigeria.

The lawmaker was upset over Akpabio’s abrupt decision to change the seating arrangement in the legislative chamber without prior notice. She was even more angered by his insistence that she would not be recognized to speak on the Senate floor unless she moved to the new seat assigned to her.

A handful of lawmakers urged her to comply for the sake of peace, but she stood her ground, refusing to be intimidated. Akpabio called Akpoti-Uduaghan an ignorant lawmaker, while his spokesman later referred to her as a narcissist who preferred wearing transparent clothes to Parliament and applying makeup rather than focusing on her legislative duties.

Senator Natasha, as she is commonly known, responded by filing a defamation lawsuit of N1.3bn ($865,945) against the Senate president and his spokesman.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Senate Suspends Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan For Six Months

However, the situation escalated a week later when Akpoti-Uduaghan appeared on live television and accused Akpabio of sexual harassment.

She alleged that Akpabio, who was a friend of her husband, had made multiple sexual advances toward her, all of which she rebuffed.

Angered by her refusal, she claimed, the Senate president had persistently victimised her by rejecting her motions and denying her the right to speak or contribute to discussions during plenary sessions.

“You know when a student keeps failing because they refuse to sleep with a lecturer? That is exactly what I have been facing, in simple terms,” she said on Arise Television.

Her allegations triggered widespread reactions, particularly in the 109-member Senate, which is male-dominated. Many senators took turns condemning Akpoti-Uduaghan, accusing her of tarnishing the institution’s reputation. Critics argued that she had a history of making baseless allegations.

However, her supporters pointed out that Joy Nunieh, a former government official, had also previously accused Akpabio of sexual harassment, even claiming she had slapped him for it.

Surprisingly, the Senate’s three female lawmakers who many expected to rally around Akpoti-Uduaghan – did not support her. Instead, they urged her to settle the matter amicably with the Senate president.

Meanwhile, Akpabio’s wife, Uloma, held a press conference in which she accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of lying about her husband. She also filed a N250bn defamation lawsuit against the senator. Akpabio himself has denied all allegations.

In response, Akpoti-Uduaghan obtained a court injunction preventing the Akpabio-led Senate from suspending or victimising her.

However, the Senate on Thursday suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for six months over alleged misconduct and refusal to comply with the chamber’s sitting arrangement during the plenary session on 20 February.

The upper chamber, however, said if Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan submits a written apology, the leadership of the chamber may consider lifting the suspension before the six-month period expires.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the suspension of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan after it was supported by a majority of senators during the plenary.

Before her suspension,  Akpoti-Uduaghan submitted a formal petition against the Senate president for sexual harassment, presenting it on the Senate floor. The petition was forwarded to the ethics committee for investigation.

However, the likelihood of a fair hearing appears slim. Even before the investigation began, Senator Neda Imasuen, chairman of the Ethics Committee, said Akpabio could not have committed sexual harassment.

While the case of violating the Senate Standing Order has gained huge moment, the sexual harassment allegations seem to be swept aside by the senate. I monitored a recent interview by the Senate Spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu on Arise TV, he was asked about the possibility of the sexual harassment by Akpabio before the Senate being attended to, his response showed nothing but an indirect NO. Funny, how many have also alleged a possible gang up against Senator Akpoti, even senators who rarely contribute or sponsor bills not have the balls to weigh in on  issue that should be taken seriously, or how would you explain the backing Akpabio receives from Senate Spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu who has had more interviews in the past 1 week than he has had in  two years?

This issue aside stirring controversies in Nigeria, has also led to a lot of citizens losing trust in the vision of Nation as far as getting justice is concern, many are asking the questions of why is Senate playing down the sexual harassment allegations against its President? Why is Akpabio still the Senate President when he is engulfed in serious allegations that could kill the career of any big wig in the political arena in developed world? Does he want to be the judge in his own case? Why is the petition against Akpabio not gaining momentum?

No doubt many of these questions are billion dollar ones, that only time would tell, regardless, Akpabio and the rest of the senate owe it to Nigerians to do the right thing, afterall “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”.