- The Senate controversy on sexual harassment allegation made by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio has been described as unfortunate
- Omotayo Yusuf, a political commentator, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, described the incident as a grave one considering the few number of women in Nigeria politics
- Yusuf called on the Senate president to recuse himself and allow a full investigation to be carried out on the sexual harassment allegation
The crisis rocking the Senate over the allegation made by Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Natasha, the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District accused Akpabio of sexual harassment.
The crisis, which has been making headlines for over one week, has gotten reactions from concerned Nigerians, including Omotayo Yusuf, a political analyst, who spoke with Legit.ng. He described the controversy as a great issue and unfortunate.
Photo Credit: @NatashaAkpoti, @SPNigeria
Source: Twitter
Akpabio told to recude himself
Yusuf called on the Senate president to recuse himself and allow proper investigation to be conducted on the matter. He lamented that the political space in Nigeria has few women and it was unfortunate that one of these few women was saying that she was being sexually harassed.
His statement reads:
“The sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio is regrettable when you consider the fact that women remain minorities in Nigerian governance. To now have a situation where one of them is alleging being harassed sexually is a grave issue and unfortunately, the issue is not being addressed the way it should. Instead.
“It has been trivialized and made a joke. This is not the first time the senate president will be accused of such which means this should be investigated fully. The senate president needs to recuse himself and allow a fair investigation to be carried out.”
Natasha accused Akpabio of sexual harassment
Legit.ng recalled that the Kogi senator who was recently suspended by the Senate for violating the Senate standing rules, reported her suspension to the United Nations Inter-Parliamentary Conference in New York on Tuesday, March 12.
Photo Credit: @NatashaAkpoti, @SPNigeria
Source: Twitter
She alleged that the Senate president sexually harassed her, that she was victimised and that Akpabio abused his duties.
After Natasha’s claim, Tulia Ackson, the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), assured the United Nations’ body would take the necessary steps on the allegations the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has raised against the Nigerian Senate and the Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The IPU president made the statement in a video seen by Legit.ng on Wednesday morning, March 12. Her reactions followed Natasha’s appeal to the parliament and the United Nations (UN) to intervene in her suspension, which she said was unlawful.
Four times Natasha violated Senate standing rules
Legit.ng earlier reported that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was accused of violating the Senate standing rule consistently.
However, she claimed that her refusal of advances from Akpabio was the beginning of her challenges in the assembly.
While many called for a thorough investigation of the allegations, others have called for Senate orders to be respected.
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Source: Legit.ng
