Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio repeatedly obstructed her legislative efforts after she rejected his alleged advances.
The Kogi Central senator on Friday made the revelation in an explosive interview on Arise Television, accusing Akpabio of deliberately blocking her motion on the investigation of corruption in Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Speaking on the incident, she recounted a moment from December 8, 2023, the eve of Akpabio’s birthday, when she and her husband were at his residence in Akwa Ibom. She claimed Akpabio made an inappropriate remark while showing her around his house.
“He held my hand and said he wanted to show me around his house… then he got to this particular sitting room and said, ‘Now that you’re a senator, I’m going to create a time for us to come spend quality moments here; you will enjoy it,’” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan stated that she did not immediately inform her husband about the statement, fearing it would strain his relationship with Akpabio. However, she later noticed a pattern of legislative obstruction, which she linked to her refusal to comply with the Senate President’s alleged demands.
She revealed that her motion to probe corruption in Ajaokuta Steel Company was deliberately sidelined multiple times. “I listed that motion five times. It was the sixth time that it was listed on the order paper that it was approved,” she said.
The senator further alleged that when she confronted Akpabio about the delays, he made a suggestive remark. “He then said, ‘Natasha, I’m 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 said, ‘Sir, I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear this.’ He said, ‘Well, the ball is in your court,’” she claimed.
Despite interventions from other senators and her husband, who reportedly met with Akpabio in London to plead for the motion to be considered, Akpoti-Uduaghan said the Senate President only allowed it after stepping aside. “At the time my motion was finally taken, it was the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau, that presided, while the Senate President walked out,” she noted.
She likened her experience to a situation faced by female students in universities who are pressured into relationships with lecturers in exchange for passing grades. “You know the situation we see in universities whereby a student is continuously being failed just because she has not slept with the lecturer? That’s what I’ve been facing, in simple terms,” she stated.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations have sparked outrage and calls for a response from Akpabio, who is yet to publicly address the claims.
