Natasha tells Sky News (UK), Akpabio said to me, “You have to [sexually] please me, make me happy to get these [Senate] privileges. And that happened several times”

Natasha tells Sky News (UK), “the breaking point was moving me from that seat; I have had to endure a whole lot in silence”

By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor

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“I experienced sexual harassment over the past year in the hands of the Senate President, and this sexual harassment, because I refused to yield to his demands, turned into malice whereby my rights and privileges as a Senator were deprived.

“I found the courage to speak up; yes, the breaking point was moving me from that seat; I have had to endure a whole lot in silence” – Natasha

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“Akpabio gave condition I had to [sexually] please him,” Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) has disclosed on Sky News, escalating her allegations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio from New York to London, two of the world cities where illegal sexual cases are hot-button issues and media best sellers.

Natasha first internationalised the sexual harassment allegations last week by presenting  them at the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the United Nations in New York.

She has alleged that Akpabio made sexual advances at her on three separate occasions over two years – at his home in Akwa Ibom in 2023, at his home in Abuja in 2024, and in his Senate office in Abuja in 2024, according to the petition she resubmitted to the Senate on March 6.

She told the British television broadcaster on Wednesday that her suspension was a direct consequence of her accusations of sexual harassment against Akpabio.

Natasha claimed in the interview that Akpabio told her she had to “please him” to enjoy her privileges as a Senator, describing her suspension as a calculated attempt to silence her.

“I made an allegation of sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on the 5th day of March 2025 and the very next day, I was suspended for six months. I believe my suspension is illegal, it’s unjust, and it’s just a way of silencing me,” she said.

“Yes, they did mention that I was suspended on grounds of gross misconduct, but can they please provide what the gross misconduct is that amounts to a six-month suspension the day after I submitted a petition? I was suspended because of that petition, not because of any gross misconduct.”

Natasha compared maltreatment to that of her male colleagues, alleging double standards in the Senate.

“Let’s talk about the gross misconduct that had happened in the Nigerian chambers. I was only told to move, and I refused to move my seat because I deserved to be notified; I deserved to be given a chance to explain why I should retain my seat.

“You see, I have seen in that chamber where men fight, where Senators throw items at each other, curse each other, shout at each other, but they were not suspended. Why? Because they were men.”

Natasha disclosed that she had endured sexual harassment from Akpabio for over a year and that her refusal to yield to his demands led to a campaign of intimidation.

She alleged that Akpabio repeatedly blocked her attempts to raise motions and push important bills in the Senate for her constituency, adding that even her husband tried intervening, but his efforts were stifled.

“I experienced sexual harassment over the past year in the hands of the Senate President, and this sexual harassment, because I refused to yield to his demands, turned into malice whereby my rights and privileges as a Senator were deprived.

“I found the courage to speak up; yes, the breaking point was moving me from that seat; I have had to endure a whole lot in silence.

“Things got difficult for me; I was always complaining. My husband would actually walk up to him because they are friends, saying, ‘My wife has a very important bill, her constituency needs this, why don’t you give her a chance to speak?’

“And he’d tell me, ‘Next time, next time.’ So he deliberately kept on denying me this. Each time I walked to him he’d tell me, ‘Right here I am the chief presiding officer of the National Assembly, so you have to please me, make me happy to get these privileges.’ And that happened several times.

“Because I refused, it developed into malice. Which other way was I supposed to make my voice heard?”

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