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Summary
Following Senator Natasha's confrontation with Godswill Akpabio in the parliament, she told the media that the senate president had previously sexually harassed her.
Senator Natasha, who appeared on the Arise TV morning show, shed more light on the conflict between her and the Senate president. The lawmaker equated the issue to the situation of sex for grades in universities.
“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,” Senator Natasha said.
The legislative member who has filed a N100 billion defamation lawsuit against Senate President Goodwill Akpabio detailed her experience with Akpabio at his residence in Ikot Ekpene and Uyo, where he made attempts to start a covert extramarital affair with her.
“At first, we were at Ikot Ekpene. We were in his house in Ikot Ekpene for his birthday. Then we all moved to his house in Uyo about 8 p.m. And he held my hand and said he wanted to show me around his house. My husband was walking behind us, just three of us,” she narrated.
Senator Natasha further reported that Akpabio tried to waylay her in the presence of her spouse while showing her the house’s interior. “’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,” Senator Natasha quoted Akpbabio.
The representative of the people of Kogi Central senatorial district, Natasha, said that consequently, the Senate president is trying to silence her voice and that of her people as he has allowed his interest in her and her refusal to influence Senate proceedings, especially regarding motions raised by her.
She points out an incident with the Ajaokuta steel company to buttress her report.
“In February, I wanted to move a motion. It was the sixth time it was listed on the order paper that it was approved. Many senators can testify to that. Each time the motion is listed, just before he takes it, he will say, ‘Oh, Senator Natasha, we can’t take this motion because the mood of the Senate does not accommodate it.”
She said that she was fed up with the president had not provided a conducive environment for her to effectively represent her constituency and had tried to address it with him before, which was futile. She reported that the senator in response to her concerns said, “You can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me and make me happy.”
Senator Natasha, also reported that she had faced several electoral challenges, and bullying in the red chambers. When she spoke last July, the Senate president openly rebuked her using sexist remarks. “You see, Senator Natasha, in the chamber, you have to be recognised before you speak. We’re not in a nightclub,” to which he later apologised citing that he has a wife and four daughters and he is a big advocate for women’s inclusion in politics and business.
She also confronted the Senate president in a viral video over the relocation of her seat without prior notice and silenced her motions, denying her ability to dispense her duties.
Previous sexual allegations arouse against Akpabio
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) former Acting Managing Director, Ms Gbenei Joy Nunieh, also claimed she slapped Akpabio, who was then the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, for sexually assaulting her. Ms Joy had also shared her encounter with Akpabio during an interview with Arise TV,
“Why did he not tell Nigerians that I slapped him in his guest house at Apo? I am the only Ogoni woman, the only Nigerian woman that has slapped him. I slapped him because of his plan B. Since he couldn’t get me to take that money, he thought that he could come up on me,”
She further explained, “He didn’t know that I’m a Port Harcourt girl. Port Harcourt girls are not moved by money…by somebody telling me that he will make me the substantive MD. Akpabio’s meetings with me were either at Apo or Meridien…Yes, I am accusing him of sexual harassment.”
Akpabio denied the allegation, claiming it was a stunt sponsored by unidentified individuals “afraid of the Forensic Audit at the NDDC” to dent his reputation. In Senator Natasha’s case, the Senate president has yet to respond to the allegations and lawsuit officially.
