Request for sexual harassment against the president of the Senate of Nigeria dismissed

The request presented by a Nigerian senator who alleges sexual harassment by the president of the Senate has been dismissed.

Godswill Akpabio, one of the most important politicians in the country, denied on Wednesday the accusations made against him by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The Ethics Committee, which had the mandate to observe the petition cited procedural violations and legal limitations at a later hearing.

“The request is contrary to the rules of the Senate and cannot be entertained,” said the president of the Senator of the Ethics Committee, Neda Imasuen.

He added that Uduaghan had personally signed the petition instead of another person supporting him, violating a Senate order.

In an interview with Arise television on Friday, Senator Uduaghan claimed that Akpabio had made inappropriate advances towards her during a visit to her residence in the south of the state of Akwa Ibom, on December 8, 2023.

In addition, he claimed that Akpabio, on a separate occasion, had hinted that he should “take care of him” if he wanted his motions to receive a favorable consideration in the Senate.

The senator claimed that Akpabio was behaving as a university professor who constantly failed his student who had refused to sleep with him.

But this was denied by Akpabio.

“At no time I harassed any woman. My late mother raised me very well, and I have always confirmed respect for women. They even gave me the most friendly governor with the genre of Nigeria,” he said.

The problem has generated a great debate in Nigeria and many requested independent investigation.

In a publication on social networks, one of Akpabio’s predecessors as president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said the problems raised were too serious to be simply discarded.

Earlier on Wednesday, two groups of protesters met in the field of the Assembly in the capital, Abuja, one that supports Akpabio and the other in support of his colleague, singing “Akpabio must leave.”

Senator Uduaghan used Wednesday’s plenary session to present the request asking for an investigation into Akpabio’s behavior.

As president, it was Akpabio who allowed Uduaghan to present the petition.

Before becoming president of the Senate less than two years ago, Akpabio was governor of the state of Akwa Ibom rich in oil for eight years and also Minister of Affairs of the Niger Delta under former President Muhammadu Buhari.