The Senate President of Nigeria, Godswill Akpabio has been warned to desist from harassing the Senator representing Kogi Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and other female Senators.
This followed a viral video from Thursday’s Senate plenary session where Akpabio had a heated exchange with Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, over a change in seating arrangement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had disrupted the session and launched a verbal tirade against Akpabio on discovering that she had been allocated a different seat.
Going by the Senate’s standing rule, only the President of the Senate has the power to allocate seats to senators in the chamber.
Angered by the change, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Akpabio of continually disrespecting her.
“Since the nightclub incident, you have been disrespecting me. How can you change my seat without my consent? I am not afraid of you,” she screamed.
Akpabio then ordered that she should be sent out of the chamber if she continued with the verbal assault. Sanity eventually prevailed as the lawmaker finally took her new seat.
The Senate President however declined calls by some Senators to sanction Akpoti-Uduaghan for her behaviour during the plenary.
In a statement released on Friday, Popular Nigerian legal practitioner and activist, Deji Adeyanju described as “unjust” the order given by Akpabio that she should be sent out of the chamber.
He accused Akpabio of targeting female Senators and treating them as “second-class citizens, an act he does not met out on his their male counterparts.
Adeyanju said it is not within the right of the Senate President to dismiss a sitting Senator from the chamber and urged Akpabio to ensure that the rights of every member of the Senate, especially women are respected.
The statement reads in parts, “In the Viral video online, She was unjustly ordered to leave the Senate chamber by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. This egregious act of harassment is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a troubling pattern of behavior towards female senators under Akpabio’s leadership.
“It is absolutely unacceptable and condemnable that, under the Senate President’s watch, female senators are treated as second-class representatives in a body meant to uphold the rights and dignity of all its members.
“The treatment faced by Senator Ireti Kingibe mirrors that which Senator Akpoti has recently endured. Such repeated harassment against female senators must no longer be tolerated.
“One cannot help but question why Senator Akpabio consistently targets women while sparing his male counterparts from similar treatment.
“This glaring double standard undermines the integrity of the Senate and sends a disheartening message about the role of women in our political landscape. Women, as elected representatives of their constituencies, deserve the same respect and consideration as their male colleagues.
“Senator Akpabio has no right to dismiss Senator Natasha Akpoti from the chamber. As an elected representative of the people of Kogi Central, she has every right to participate in discussions and debates in the Senate.
“The manner in which Akpabio entered the Senate as a representative is the same way Akpoti holds her position. It is imperative that we protect the rights and dignity of women in our political institutions.
“We must advocate for a political environment where women are not only present but also feel safe and respected. The harassment of female senators is a violation of their rights and an affront to the democratic principles we claim to uphold.
“In light of this, I call on the Senate President to cease his harassment and targeting of our female senators. If this pattern of behavior continues and he fails to stop his campaign of harassment, we will have no choice but to petition various embassies to consider placing visa bans on him and his immediate family,” the statement read.
It would be recalled that Akpoti-Uduaghan in 2024 made a similar outburst on how she was being addressed during plenary after Akpabio, who was presiding asked her to comport herself, reminding her that the Senate chamber wasn’t a nightclub.
Following tge development, FLEADERS Nigeria, a female leadership project of Emerge Women Development Initiative demanded an unreserved apology from Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over what it called his sexist remarks towards the lawmaker representing Kogi Central in the Senate, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Akpabio had since apologised to the female senator.
