Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, has accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio of troubling her because he rejected his love advances.
The Kogi-born, in a Friday morning interview with Arise TV, likened her case to that of a student who is being punished for refusing to sleep with her lecturer.
According to Natasha Akpabio made the sexual advances when she and her husband, High Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, visited the senate president’s house to celebrate his birthday in December 2023.
Narrating what transpired between them, Natasha said, “My issue with Akpabio started on 8th of December, 2023 when myself and my husband visited Akwa Ibom for Senator Akpabio’s birthday. Akpabio was showing me around his house and was holding my hands with my husband following behind us when he said, he wants me to come and be spending special moments in his house. My husband heard him and later told me not to travel abroad alone or be with the Senate President alone.
“In February, I wanted to move a motion for the investigation on the ills of the corrupt practice in Ajaokuta steel company. I listed that motion five times. It was the sixth time that it was listed on the order paper that was approved. Many senators can testify to that.
“Before the motion made the order paper, I went to the Senate President in his office, and I said, ‘Senate President, you know how important this Ajaokuta Steel Company is to me, you know how important it is to my people and to Nigerians. I’ve noticed that you have stepped down this motion’. As a matter of fact, a number of senators told me to see him and plead with him so that he would take it. I was like, ‘sir, please, why can’t you take this motion? It’s very important’ Then, it was listed the third time and stepped down.
“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 said, ‘well, the ball is in your court’. I left his office.”
Recall that on February 20, Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan engaged in a heated debate on the floor of the upper legislative chamber over a change in seating arrangements.
