Why I Will Not Step Down Over Natasha’s sexual Allegations – Akpabio
THECONSCIENCE NG reports that the Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Thursday gave reasons why he will not step down over allegations of sexual harassment.
Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan, in March accused Akpabio of having allegedly sexually harassed her in 2023 and demanded the Senate President should step aside to allow for unbiased probe of the allegation by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions.
Akpabio replied Akpoti Uduaghan while responding to comments by the Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele that some people had called on him to step aside notwithstanding the work the 10th Senate is doing.
Bamidele referenced the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar for saying there is no need for a security summit being planned by the Senate over insecurity in the country.
The Minister, during a ministerial press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, said while such gatherings could provide useful input, they cannot substitute for well-thought-out military strategies.
On the summit, yes, strategy is far more important than summit. But summit will give you some inputs for the strategy. When you hold a summit, you have people, they talk. We take what they expect, and we go back to design or renew our strategy,” the Minister said.
Akpabio said stepping down would predispose him to suffer irreversible injury or make him a bad example or injustice should he be found to be innocent of the allegation at the end of the day.
Responding to Bamidele, Akpabio said: “I would not have answered you, but for the fact that you said those who would have asked you to step down. Who told you I was going to step down?
“You know, if you watch the colour of America, there are black people because of their skins who went to prison, some for 25 years for false allegations.
So, I’m not one of those people who will step down over false allegation then when eventually it is proven that the allegation is false, they will say, oh, well…
“I’m not that bad. So, if you had that in mind, please cancel it. So, having said that, I must thank you for, for the words that you have spoken today.”
On comments by the Minister of Defence, Akpabio said the Senate would respond at the appropriate time.
He said the Minister should not have taken his objection concerning its planned security summit to the public domain.
Akpabio said: “But I also know that in the course of your speech, you did not indict, but you reported the other Minister of Defence to, I think the Senate will look into that issue.
“If defence has any issue with any resolution of the Senate, it shouldn’t do so in the market. It should get in touch with Senate President or the Senate Elders. It should get in touch with us, not to go and speak in the open. And it will amount to Executive Legislative Brouhaha. So, we will pick that up at the appropriate time.”
In his comments after the passage of the two remaining Tax Reform Bills by the Senate, Bamidele said he not averse to criticism as an elected public official.
He said despite the herculean task of passing the Bills, there are persons in some quarters who don’t see anything good in the 10th Senate.
Bamidele said: “I was elected into office to be criticized. We are not opposed to that. But when people falsify things about us, when people deliberately try to call us out, I don’t know what to do.
“But it’s true and Mr. President, the task of all these we have just passed is a great example of how we work. The young public, it is almost 7 p.m. now.
“We have been focused on trying to start reforms. But let it be noted again that these bills were first presented to us in November of 2024 and we had our first reading November 2024.
“Our second reading assured the Nigerian public that having done the second reading, we are going to commit these bills to public hearing..
We are working with relevant stakeholders to ensure Mr. President, that we had the first and second reading in November.
“I want to emphasize that between our second reading of this bill and today, we have had different engagements with different stakeholders, ranging from the executive arm of government and people in charge of the presidential taskforce to members of civil society and professional organizations, some of whom took part in our public hearing.
“There have been a series of meetings. There have been a series of engagements. Even as a Senate, we set up our own committee, seasoned senators, who had engaged in various aspects of public life.
And the fact that in rounding up yesterday, we spent more than half of the day in closed-door session. Why are we doing all of this? It is because we recognize that the times are unusual for our country and for the global economy and we chose to remind ourselves constantly that this is not the time to grandstand.
“And that as a parliament, we must do everything possible to cooperate with other arms of government to ensure that we are able to give impetus and the legal framework governance in this.
“People should not mistake our unintentional decision not to grandstand for being a rubber stamp parliament. As some people would be eager to describe us as a parliament.
“I therefore say to the Honorable Minister, when it is time to hold a national security summit, you should be eager to honor our invitation. And finally, let me just say that we remain focused.
“Having passed the tax reforms Bills, we are moving on to work on electoral reforms. And we are moving on as well to work on constitutional reforms. We are very clear as to our mandate and our agenda.
“We will continue to do what we have to do in the interest of the Nigerian people who elected us here. And we are not going to allow anything, not even us distracting ourselves.
We will come in here as serious people who understand our rules, who will guide ourselves by those rules, who know that we are privileged to be here. The Senate is an institution and is bigger than any individual.
“I’m sure you know, sir, that those who felt that by now this Senate would have asked you to step down, have seen now seen that we are focused on what we are doing.
“And at whatever the level of allegation against any one of us, we will always ask for evidence and we will do what is in overriding public interest.”
