Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, has accused Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, of directing suggestive remarks at her on different occasions.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who appeared on Arise TV on Friday, said that the altercation between her and the senate leader on February 20 broke the camel’s back because she had repeatedly rejected his advances.
She explained that his advances towards her started in December 2023 when she visited his home in Ikot-Ekpene, Uyo, with her husband. She said he took her hand and was showing her around before making an inappropriate proposition.
READ MORE: Akpabio’s ‘Take Her Out’ Order, Akpoti’s Claims Reveal Senate President’s Bullying Behaviour
Akpoti stated that she rejected the advances but confronted him for regularly stepping down her motions in the Senate, to which he asked her to yield to his demands.
“Many people don’t know what I’m about to say, but I’m going to speak my own truth. The senate president is allowed to counter that,” she said,
“It all started on December 8, 2023, which was a day before his birthday and mine; we are birthday mates. We were all in Akwa Ibom because he had a big fanfare in the stadium. Myself, my husband, and a few of his close friends.
“At first, we were in his house in Ikot-Ekpene. Then we all moved to his house in Uyo at about 8 pm. He held my hands and he said he wanted to show me round his house. My husband was walking behind us, just the three of us.
“We were walking around from room to room. He showed me the beautiful interior.
“I noticed that he hastened his pace while still holding my hands, and my husband was behind on his phone. But he was catching up wherever he could. He got to this particular sitting room and he said, ‘Do you like my house?’ I said, ‘Of course, sir. Every room is beautiful, nice interior, quality taste.’
“He said, ‘Now that you are a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come and spend quality moments here. You will enjoy it.’ At that point, I just pulled away, and I didn’t really understand what that meant.
“My husband was already near us, and I was wondering if he heard part of that.”
READ ALSO: Ex-NDDC Boss Joy Nunieh Recalls How She ‘Slapped Akpabio for Sexual Harassment’
The Kogi senator said that after the encounter, her husband asked her about the Senate president’s statement and warned her not to travel out of the country with Akpabio alone or visit his guest house.
She said that a motion she also listed for investigations into the Ajaokuts steel was steeped five times before it was listed on the order paper the sixth time.
“Each time the motion is listed, just before he takes it, he would say, ‘Senator Natasha, we can’t take this motion because the mood of the senate does not accommodate it’, but he would speak on others and let it drag on and before my motion is taken, the time would be well spent.”
Akpoti stated that she went to him in his office and explained the importance of the Ajaokuta steel to her and the people she represents, to which he responded, “I am the chief pressing officer of the senate. You can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me.”
Akpoti has filed a lawsuit against Akpabio for alleged defamation. The lawsuit claims that defamatory statements were made by Akpabio and published by his aide on Facebook.
She is demanding N100 billion in general damages and N300 million for litigation costs. Their dispute became public when her Senate seat was reassigned without her consent, prompting resistance. When she protested, her microphone was muted, and Akpabio ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove her, which she defied, accusing him of silencing her voice in the chamber
She said that her seat in the house had been changed intentionally without her notice.
Akpabio has faced similar accusations of harassment from female colleagues in the past.
In 2020, Joy Nunieh, former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), accused Akpabio of sexual harassment, claiming she slapped him in his guest house to resist his advances.
Nunieh claimed that Akpabio had tried to use political promises and financial incentives to manipulate her, but she refused. Akpabio denied the accusations, attributing them to individuals attempting to undermine an ongoing NDDC forensic audit.
The post Akpoti Accuses Akpabio of Making Repeated Suggestive Remarks to Her appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.