{"id":93138,"date":"2025-02-28T18:12:15","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T18:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=93138"},"modified":"2025-02-28T18:23:36","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T18:23:36","slug":"sexual-harassment-allegations-against-akpabio-wife-vows-to-sue-senator-natasha-akpoti-uduaghan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=93138","title":{"rendered":"Sexual harassment allegations against Akpabio: Wife vows to sue Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">The men appear to be maintaining a studied silence, but for the wives, it is battle time. Senate President Godswill Akpabio&#8217;s wife, Ekaette, says she will go to court over allegations made by the Senator representing Kogi Central at the Nigerian Senate, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, that her husband made sexual advances at her.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 696px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-93138-1\" width=\"696\" height=\"395\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/WhatsApp-Video-2025-02-28-at-4.21.34-PM.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/WhatsApp-Video-2025-02-28-at-4.21.34-PM.mp4\">https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/WhatsApp-Video-2025-02-28-at-4.21.34-PM.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio waved off the allegations while speaking with journalists describing them as &#8220;baseless fantasies&#8221;. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Mrs. Akpabio poured encomiums on her husband for his discipline, love of family, and supporting the inclusiveness of women in government. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier of Friday on Arise TV <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">accused <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Senate President Godswill Akpabio of making these advances to her within the Senate premises and during a visit to his home in Akwa Ibom.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_93061\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93061\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93061\" src=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-15.25.41-300x209.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-15.25.41-300x209.png 300w, https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-15.25.41-768x535.png 768w, https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-15.25.41-696x485.png 696w, https:\/\/everyday.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-2025-02-20-at-15.25.41.png 884w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93061\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Senators Godswill Akpabio and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cIn February, I wanted to move a motion for the investigation of anti-corruption practices at Ajaokuta Steel Company. I listed that motion five times, but it was only on the sixth attempt that it was approved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cHe kept doing that, so I went to his office and said, \u2018You know how important the Ajaokuta Steel Company is to me and my people. I\u2019ve noticed that you have repeatedly stepped down this motion.\u2019 He replied, \u2018Natasha, I\u2019m the Chief Presiding Officer of the Senate. You can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me and make me happy.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cAt that point, I said I would pretend I didn\u2019t hear that. He then said, \u2018The ball is in your court.\u2019 When I got home, I told my husband to speak to the Senate President to allow my motion to go through.\u00a0You know when a student keeps failing because they refuse to sleep with a lecturer? That is exactly what I have been facing, in simple terms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">And then she cited another event that allegedly took place in December.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cIt all started the day before his birthday and my birthday because we are birthday mates. We were all in Akwa Ibom. At first, we were in his house at Ikot Ekpene. Then we all went to his house in Uyo, then he held my hands, walking around from room to room, he showed me the beautiful interiors. He got to this particular sitting room and asked me if I liked his house. I said of course, Sir, every room is beautiful, beautiful taste. And he said, Now you are a senator, I am going to create time for us to come create quality moments here. You will enjoy it.\u2019 At that point, I just pulled away because I didn\u2019t understand what he meant\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">The Senator cited her husband, who was behind them, as a witness; but Akpabio&#8217;s wife dismisses the allegation because<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\"> she was present at her family residence on the alleged date, 8th December, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Recall that nearly five years ago, a <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">former Acting Managing Director of the\u00a0Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\"> Joi Nunieh,\u00a0 accused Akpabio, then the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, of sexually harassing her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cWhy did he not tell Nigerians that I slapped him in his guest house at Apo? I am the only Ogoni woman, the only Nigerian woman that has slapped him. I slapped him because of his plan B. Since he couldn\u2019t get me to take that money, he thought that he could come up on me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cHe didn\u2019t know that I\u2019m a Port Harcourt girl. Port Harcourt girls are not moved by money\u2026by somebody telling me that he will make me the substantive MD. Akpabio\u2019s meetings with me were either at Apo or Meridien\u2026Yes, I am accusing him of sexual harassment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Akpabio problems with Akpoti-Uduaghan came to the fore last Thursday when she raised issues over her relocation from her previously seating position.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">As she raised her voice after been ruled out of order, the Senate President ordered sergeants-at-arms to remove her from the chamber, while calling on Chamber officials to give him the rule that spoke about the suspension of a member.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Earlier, Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno briefed Akpabio over the female senator&#8217;s refusal to move to a new seat allocated to her, adding that<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\"> a senator could only speak from their official seat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">He noted that the president could prevent any senator from contributing from a seat other than the officially alllocated one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">The re-arrangement of seats, Monguno said, was necessitated by the defection of two senators to the ruling party adding that the Senate President had the powers to reassign seats. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">As soon as Akpabio ruled in favour of Monguno, Akpoti-Uduaghan sprang up and objected, citing Order 10 on member&#8217; privileges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Akpabio would not have it and ordered she be removed by the Sergeant-at-Arms, while calling for the rule on suspension of members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Akpoti-Uduaghan maintained her stand that her privileges had been breached, even as official of the Sergeant-at-Arms moved to effect Akpabi&#8217;s order and her colleagues stepped forward to calm her down. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Even when her microphone was muted, the senator kept making her point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Her words: <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cSince the nightclub incident, you have deliberately silenced me and the voice of Kogi Central on this floor. You have denied me the right to contribute to motions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cI have not been able to take the second readings of my numerous debates. So, Mr Senate President, I am not afraid of further being silenced but I will not be shoved to the corner. I choose to remain on this seat as a senator duly elected by my people come what may.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cThe worst you will do, Mr Senate President, is to suspend me from sitting. And I promise you, the fact that I am suspended does not mean that I cease to contribute my quota to the development of my people and Nigerians at large.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cMr Senate President, I have taken a whole lot from you. Some I don\u2019t want to speak [about] publicly. But I will let Nigerians know how you are discriminating against me, how you have maligned me, how you have dehumanised me&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cYour choice of words since I resumed in this Senate have [caused me] to be dehumanised. Mr Senate President, I am not afraid of you. Do what you may but I will not leave this seat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u201cI have faced a lot of harassment, I have been going through a lot, a lot. And I have remained quiet because I didn\u2019t want to be interpreted wrongly, I didn\u2019t want any lawsuits against me. I just wanted to be given a chance to work.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">Not done and apparently fearing a backlash, she\u00a0went to court last Tuesday and filed\u00a0a lawsuit against Akpabio for alleged defamation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">She alleged that defamatory statements were made against her by the Senate President and asked the court to order him to pay her N100 billion in general damages and N300 million as litigation costs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 17px;\">\u25cf Additional report from <strong>www.adbntv.com<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><!--\/data\/user\/0\/com.samsung.android.app.notes\/files\/clipdata\/clipdata_bodytext_250228_185917_995.sdocx--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The men appear to be maintaining a studied silence, but for the wives, it is battle time. Senate President Godswill Akpabio&#8217;s wife, Ekaette, says she will go to court over allegations made by the Senator representing Kogi Central at the Nigerian Senate, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, that her husband made sexual advances at her. Mrs. Ekaette Unoma [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":93139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[22,7015,60],"class_list":["post-93138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-politics","tag-akpabio","tag-ekaette","tag-natasha"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/93139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}