A major political storm has erupted in the Nigerian Senate as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of soliciting sex from her and orchestrating political retaliation after she rejected his advances.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi State under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), made the allegations during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, escalating a long-standing feud between the two lawmakers dating back to 2023.
The rift between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio first became public in late 2023 following a heated exchange on the Senate floor over a legislative matter. While the dispute initially subsided, tensions flared again last week when Akpoti-Uduaghan resisted an attempt to reassign her designated seat to a newly sworn-in lawmaker.
After making media appearances condemning the move, the Senate referred her to the disciplinary committee – a decision she strongly opposed, calling it an attempt to silence and suspend her.
Following the disciplinary referral, Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a defamation lawsuit against Akpabio after his aide made disparaging remarks about her on social media, claiming she wore “transparent” clothing to Senate sessions and “heavy pancake” on her face.
Explosive Allegations
On Friday, Akpoti-Uduaghan took the matter further by publicly accusing Akpabio of seeking sexual favours from her.
“My case is a case of a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him,” she stated during the TV interview.
She alleged that her troubles in the Senate—including the disciplinary committee referral—were all engineered by Akpabio as a form of retaliation.
“It all started on 8th December, 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 8pm. 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.
“He said ‘now that you are a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come and spend quality moment here’. You will enjoy it. At that point, I just pulled away… that I don’t understand what he meant.
“My husband heard him and later told me not to travel abroad alone or be with the Senate President alone.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan further alleged that in February, she struggled to table a motion for an investigation into corruption at the Ajaokuta Steel Company, claiming it was repeatedly blocked by Akpabio.
“I approached him in his office and pleaded for the motion to be listed. He then said, ‘Natasha, I’m the chief presiding officer of the Senate, you can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me. Make me happy.’ At that point, I said, ‘Sir, I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear this.’ He replied, ‘Well, the ball is in your court,’” she alleged.
Akpabio’s Camp Dismisses Allegations
Senate President Akpabio has yet to respond directly to the accusations. However, his media consultant, Kenny Okulogbo, dismissed the claims as “tissues of lies,” according to Punch, attributing Akpoti-Uduaghan’s anger to her recent removal as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content.
“All that Senator Natasha said are lies. She is just angry because she was removed as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content,” he alleged, according to Punch. “The Senate President will respond. We will make an official statement soon.”
In her interview, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she had evidence against Akpabio, stating that her husband is a witness. She also mentioned possessing printed screenshots of conversations and challenged security agencies to extract WhatsApp call details to verify her claims.
The allegations have sparked nationwide debate on the challenges faced by women in Nigerian politics. With female lawmakers significantly underrepresented in the National Assembly, activists argue that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims highlight broader systemic issues of harassment and discrimination against women in leadership.
This is not the first time Akpabio has faced accusations of sexual harassment. In 2020, while serving as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs under President Muhammadu Buhari, former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Joy Nunieh, accused him of sexual harassment. Akpabio denied the allegations.
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