SENATE President, Godswill Akpabio, and the lawmaker representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan would appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions (SCEPPP).
This is according to the Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, who appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria on Friday.
He stated that other lawmakers too would narrate to the committee what they know regarding the alleged case of sexual harassment levelled against Akpabio by Natasha.
“All the parties involved would appear before the Committee, including the Senate President. He would come and testify and his testimony would be recorded, likewise other senators,” he stated.
Natasha, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had on February 28 alleged that the incident occurred in December 2023 when she and her husband visited Akpabio’s residence in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State.
She alleged that during the visit, the Senate President held her hand, led her around his house, and then made inappropriate advances towards her, even in her husband’s presence.
But Nwebonyi, who represents Ebonyi North, accused his colleague of diverting attention, adding that the upper chamber is not perturbed by the allegation.
“In criminal prosecution, there is what we call prima facie evidence, that is evidence on the surface. If there is no prima facie evidence, then there is no case.
“She knows quite alright that what she is saying is to divert attention but we are not disturbed because we know the truth.
“On the alleged date of the incident, so many senators were there. I am one of the star witnesses, I will come and tell the world what I saw,” he added.
The Senate suspended the lawmaker for violation of the Senate’s rules days after she submitted a petition against Akpabio for sexual assault and other accusations, claims the Senate President has strongly refuted.
But on Tuesday, the suspended Kogi Senator took her case to a global stage.
At the Women in Parliament session held at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Meeting (IPU) at the United Nations in New York, Senator Natasha sought justice and the intervention of global democratic institutions.
The lawmaker demanded justice over what she described as injustice meted out to her. Senator Natasha described her suspension from the Senate as illegal.
“I was suspended illegally because I submitted a petition for sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio. I thought that by submitting the petition, he would recuse himself and both of us would submit ourselves to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petition for a fair, transparent investigation. But unfortunately, I was silenced and I was suspended,” she told the gathering.
“That means I’m here illegally, but I have no other place to go but to come here and speak to you because this is a bigger picture. This is a bigger picture. It depicts the crisis of women’s political representation. My suspension is not just about me. It’s about the systemic exclusion of women from political leadership in Nigeria,” the Kogi lawmaker added.
“At no time did I ever harass any woman. I was raised very well by my late single mother, and I have always upheld respect for women. I was even awarded the most gender-friendly governor in Nigeria,” he said.
The Senate President, who said he had been inundated with calls on the matter since February 25, and that he was aware of the growing social media discourse, urged Nigerians, the media, and social media users to refrain from concluding.