Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s camp has disputed the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s power to compel him to testify before its panel over Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension from the National Assembly.
Akpabio’s media aide, Eseme Eyiboh, confirmed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is on a six-month ban, accused Akpabio of sexual harassment and misuse of power.
On Tuesday, she appeared before the IPU, a United Nations organisation, to file a complaint against the Nigerian Senate and its president, Akpabio.
After hearing her case, the IPU stated that it needed to hear from Akpabio before taking a position on the issue.
“The IPU, through its President Tulia Ackson, assured that it would take necessary steps after hearing both sides of the issue. Ackson acknowledged Akpoti-Uduaghan’s concerns but stressed the need for procedural fairness by hearing Akpabio’s side as well,” a Wednesday statement by the agency read.
However, speaking in an interview with on Wednesday, Akpabio’s aide, Eyiboh, insisted that the Senate President was under no obligation to honour any invitation from the IPU, arguing that the matter was an internal parliamentary issue.
“They don’t have the authority to do that. It is an internal affair of the National Assembly. Akpabio can’t be forced to honour an IPU invitation. That is one. Secondly, what she is doing is contemptuous since she was said to have obtained a court order,” he said.
“That means she has no regard for the rule of law. And beyond being contemptuous, what she is trying to do is to dent the image of Nigeria, which is worrisome. Again, the IPU cannot meddle into the parliament and internal affairs of a sovereign state like Nigeria. It will be very embarrassing.
“But as I said, she has taken a step to show contempt for the court she went to. Has anybody asked her why she left the court to start heading to the IPU? Anyway, we wouldn’t want to comment too much on that issue because it is sub judice.”
Speaking on if Akpoti-Uduaghan would face further sanctions for her actions, Eyiboh declined to speculate.
“I cannot predict that,” he said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, was suspended on March 6 after an altercation with the Senate President over a new seating arrangement that she believed was intended to undermine her.
During an interview on national television, she accused Akpabio of politically victimising her for refusing his alleged sexual advances.
Akpoti-Uduaghan spoke at the Women in Parliament session of the IPU summit at the United Nations in New York, calling for international intervention to keep the Nigerian Senate accountable.
She also criticised the removal of her security, salary reduction, and a six-month suspension from the National Assembly.
