FCT, Abuja – Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Nigerian Senate, has been faced with another allegation of sexual harassment, the second of its kind within the space of four years.
Senator Akpabio and Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been at loggerheads for some weeks.
Akpabio and Natasha’s rift
The rift between the two senators reached its height when the Kogi lawmaker granted an interview on a live TV programme and alleged that the Senate president has been making sexual advances toward her, giving it as a condition before she could be recognised to speak on the floor of the Senate.
However, Kenny Okulogbo, a media consultant to the Senate president, dismissed the allegation and described it as “tissues of lies”, alleging that the Kogi Senator was angry against Akpabio because she was removed as the chairman of the Senate committee on local content.
Source: Twitter
Sexual harassment: Times Akpabio has been accused
But the allegation was coming nearly five years that a similar allegation was made against Akpabio, when he served as the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs. Joy Nunieh, the former acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), alleged that Akpabio harassed her.
Legit.ng recalled that Nunieh made the allegation on an AriseTV programme, where Senator Natasha also made the claim.
Nunieh said:
“Why did he not tell Nigerians that I slapped him in his guest house at Apo? I am the only Ogoni woman, the only Nigerian woman that has slapped him. I slapped him because of his plan B. Since he couldn’t get me to take that money, he thought that he could come up on me.”
Ex-NDDC MD speak on confrontation with Akpabio
According to Daily Trust, the former NDDC boss bragged that she was a Port Harcourt girl and Port Harcourt girls are not moved by money or anyone telling her that she would be made the substantive MD. She said they always meet at Apo or Meridien and concluded by saying, “Yes, I am accusing him (Akpabio) of sexual harassment.”
Reacting to the former MD’s allegation, the then minister stated that Nunieh had temperament issues and suggested that she meets with a doctor. Akpabio then stated that Nunieh’s appointment was terminated not because of corruption but because of insubordination. He denied the allegation.
