Shaibu Clarifies Privilege of Lawmaker Seat, Office Amid Natasha-Akpabio Conflict

Shaibu Clarifies Privilege of Lawmaker Seat, Office Amid Natasha-Akpabio Conflict

A former Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, says the seat arrangement row between Senators Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Godswill Akpabio should not be reduced to a gender affair.

Shaibu, said seats and offices of federal lawmakers are privileges and not rights. According to him, seats and offices must be lobbied for by federal lawmakers.

The former deputy governor once occupied the Etsako Federal constituency House of Representatives seat in the National Assembly from June 2015 to March 2016. Before then, he spent eight years at the Edo state House of Assembly as a lawmaker.

Shaibu said, “Interestingly, Natasha is my friend. Senator Akpabio, the president of the Senate, is my political leader.

“There are rules guiding the House. When I was in the National Assembly, it was the prerogative of the leadership of the House to allocate office and to allocate seats, and in the House, there is what is called lobbying; you lobby for everything.”

He said, “For you to have a good office when you come in, maybe because of my experience as a two-term member of Edo State House of Assembly, when I came to Abuja from day 1, I went quickly to lobby, to check the kind of offices that they have areas and locations.

“I was able to lobby to have my office close to where I wanted it, I was able to hurriedly lobby for where I wanted to sit. Whereas some people who are coming for the first time did not know that you lobby for things like that.

“There are rules; the rules of the House if clear and you must be guided by them, it doesn’t mean whether you are a man or a woman. The rules are meant for the House.

“The issue of seats and offices are a privilege. For me, I don’t think this is a gender thing; I think there is a miscommunication somewhere and we should abide by the rules of the House, and the rules are clear and the rules are not meant for women nor are they meant for men.”

On February 20, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central Senatorial District, rejected her assigned seat in the red chamber and challenged the Senate President’s order.

The female senator accused the senate president of harassment and slammed a N100bn alleged defamation suit against him while the Akpabio-led upper legislative chamber has referred her to the senate disciplinary committee.

In July 2024, Akpabio apologised to Akpoti-Uduaghan over his nightclub comment against the female lawmaker.