Former presidential spokesperson Laolu Akande has expressed concern over what he perceives as efforts to suppress Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central in the National Assembly.
Akpoti-Uduaghan recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment—allegations Akpabio has strongly denied.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Akande criticized the perceived targeting of the senator. He urged the Senate to halt what he described as a collective effort to undermine Akpoti-Uduaghan.
“They need to stop all these images, meetings, and ganging up against this woman. That has to stop. The leadership of the Senate needs to show us that there is going to be a dispassionate consideration of her allegations,” he said.
“Once that is sorted, if you think that there is a need to punish her for violating the rules, it is the better way to handle it. This idea of all of the men coming out and brandishing the rules is not looking pretty at all.
“This woman has said to the whole world that she has been sexually harassed. We have to be careful, the Nigerian Senate has to be careful not to create an impression that we are trying to silence her.
“What we have been seen so far is a lot of men holding meetings, speaking out, coming to the media to run this woman down. It is a poor reflection on the Nigerian Senate.”
Senator Defends Red Chamber
But Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi has defended the Red Chamber and claimed that her colleague Natasha was pursuing a personal interest.
“Senator Natasha is claiming sexual harassment because she lost the chairmanship of local content and not that she was harassed by Senator Akpabio or any other senator,” the lawmaker who represents Ebonyi North said on the same show.
He said, “Senator Natasha was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content which she felt she was comfortable with. But in the Senate, from time to time, committee leadership is changed; reshuffled and her committee was affected like every other chairmen.
“She was shifted to the Senate Committee on Diaspora which didn’t go down well with Senator Natasha.”
Amid the sexual harassment claims, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions on Wednesday dismissed Senator Natasha’s sexual harassment and abuse of office petition against Akpabio.
It declared the claims “dead on arrival,” and cited procedural violations and legal constraints.