New details have surfaced about a petition submitted to the Senate by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, abuse of office, and obstruction of legislative duties.
Filed on March 4, 2025, and officially submitted on Wednesday to the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the petition outlines several serious allegations against Akpabio. Akpoti-Uduaghan claims that during a visit to Akpabio’s residence in Akwa Ibom on December 8, 2023, he made inappropriate advances despite her being accompanied by her husband, Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan.
She recalls that Akpabio allegedly suggested she “spend quality time” with him.
The petition further details an incident in May 2024, when Akpabio invited Akpoti-Uduaghan to his private residence in Abuja, ostensibly to discuss legislative matters. During the meeting, Akpabio allegedly told her, “You know I am the Senate President; I will give you whatever you want, all you have to do is make me happy.”
He reportedly added, “Senator Natasha, you can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me and make me happy.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan claims that after rejecting these advances, she found her motion to discuss the Ajaokuta Steel Company consistently removed from the Senate’s Order Paper.
Additionally, Akpoti-Uduaghan accuses Akpabio of calling her a “nightclub girl” on the Senate floor, a remark he later apologized for, but she insists it was part of a larger pattern of intimidation. She also alleges that Akpabio abused his office to orchestrate her removal as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Local Content, accusing him of undermining her efforts to establish mini-Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects in Ajaokuta in favor of projects in the Niger Delta.
The petition also highlights previous accusations of sexual harassment against Akpabio, notably from Dr. Joi Nunieh, the former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in 2020.
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Akpoti-Uduaghan is calling for a thorough investigation into these ongoing allegations, urging the Senate Committee to take action and ensure accountability.
The petition also referenced a tense confrontation between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio on February 20, 2025, during a plenary session. Akpoti-Uduaghan claims Akpabio maliciously refused to let her respond to a point of order, eventually calling for her removal by the Sergeant-at-Arms and suspending her from the Senate.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the Senate’s Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions dismissed the petition as “dead on arrival.”
In response to the allegations, Akpabio denied ever abusing any woman during the plenary session, stating, “I was raised very well by my late single mother, and I have always upheld respect for women.”
