A fresh controversy has emerged in Nigeria’s legislative chambers as Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central has formally submitted a petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.
The petition, officially presented during the Senate’s plenary session on March 5, 2025, marks a major development in the ongoing dispute.
Before the petition was submitted, the Senate had refrained from addressing the allegations, stating that no formal complaint had been received.
Senate spokesperson Adeyemi Adaramodu clarified that the legislative body does not act on allegations made through the media but requires official documentation. “There is no allegation before the Senate. There is none from anybody for that matter. So we don’t pick allegations on television screens or from social media,” he stated.
The controversy first surfaced on February 28, 2025, when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, during an interview, alleged that Akpabio made inappropriate advances toward her at his residence during a birthday gathering in December 2023.
She claimed that Akpabio suggested they “spend quality time together” and assured her that she would “enjoy it.” According to her, after rejecting his advances, she faced acts of victimization within the Senate.
Reacting to the allegations, Akpabio’s wife, Ekaette Akpabio, publicly defended her husband, describing him as a man of integrity and discipline.
“The Senate President is a very responsible and disciplined man. There is no way that a man as disciplined as that can think of taking a woman to his home. He has a lot of respect for me and the children,” she stated in a press briefing on February 28, 2025.
The matter has sparked mixed reactions. On March 1, 2025, a group of women in Akwa Ibom staged a demonstration against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, accusing her of tarnishing the reputation of the Senate President.
The protesters, holding placards with messages such as “Respect the office of the Senate President,” demanded an end to what they termed the degradation of the Senate’s leadership.
Additionally, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate and a witness to the event in question, dismissed the allegations as unfounded.
He recounted that at the birthday event, Akpoti-Uduaghan and her husband remained in the parlour due to discomfort from her shoes, while the rest of the attendees explored the residence.
“There was never a time when the Senate President touched Senator Natasha. There was never a time when he asked her to return to his home to have a ‘good time,'” he asserted.
