Nwaebonyi claimed Ezekwesili provoked him by telling him to “shut up” and calling him a hooligan despite his position as a senator.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi of Ebonyi North has defended his heated exchange with former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, during a Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions hearing on Tuesday.
The altercation occurred during a session on a petition filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Ezekwesili attended the hearing alongside Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, legal counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan, and chief petitioner Zubairu Yakubu from Kogi Central.
Tensions rose when the petitioner questioned the impartiality of the committee’s chairman, Neda Imasuen, accusing him of mishandling the case and alleging that some members had close ties to Akpabio. His remarks angered several lawmakers, who saw them as an attempt to undermine the committee’s credibility.
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Ezekwesili also faced pushback for what some senators perceived as her insistence on forcing her way into the proceedings. As she pressed to be heard, she requested to be placed under oath, declaring, “I am a citizen of Nigeria.”
This led to a heated confrontation with Nwaebonyi, who snapped, “You’re a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You’re an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here.” In response, Ezekwesili called him a “hooligan,” further escalating the argument before order was restored.
Speaking with Channels Television on Tuesday evening, Nwaebonyi claimed Ezekwesili provoked him by telling him to “shut up” and calling him a hooligan despite his position as a senator.
“It started when she was asked to take an oath because she said she was a witness. She refused, saying she couldn’t be placed under oath. As I was addressing the presiding officer, she turned to me and said, ‘Will you shut up your mouth? You are a hooligan,’” Nwaebonyi recounted.
He insisted he had no regrets about his response. “For a mother like you, a grandmother of your age, a former minister of the Federal Republic to tell a sitting senator to shut up and call him a hooligan, that’s unacceptable,” he stated.
Asked if he regretted the exchange, he said: “How can I regret the scenario? I gave it to her. Is it fair for her to address me that way? As a former minister and a grandmother, ask her first.”
