Natasha-Akpoti attempted to embarrass Nigeria by addressing IPU, says Akpabio

• Akpabio dismissed her claims, arguing she bypassed internal parliamentary mechanisms and took her allegations to an international platform.
• He also insisted that Nigeria has internal mechanisms and a judiciary capable of handling such allegations properly.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has criticised Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a senator from Kogi Central, for making allegations of sexual harassment against him at an international event.

During a plenary session on Thursday, Akpabio stated that Akpoti-Uduaghan “attempted to embarrass Nigeria” by speaking about the issue at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference.

“She has externalized the matter by attempting to embarrass the federal republic of Nigeria by going to give a narrative at the IPU-UN event — totally different from what occurred in the senate,” Akpabio said.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had informed the conference on Tuesday that she was “illegally suspended” from the senate after submitting a petition accusing Akpabio of sexual harassment.

Akpabio refuted the allegations, asserting that the senator ignored internal parliamentary processes and the legal system by presenting her case before an international audience.

“We have our own internal mechanisms of resolving issues in Nigeria. Outside this parliament, we also have the judiciary, and she is already standing before it,” Akpabio said.

“Even here, she has brought a petition but has not allowed us to look into it. She went to court but has not allowed the court to look into it. Now, she has taken the matter to the international community, and she may not even allow them to look into it. She may decide to run to… I don’t know where.

“The reality is that we remain resolute. We are law-abiding. We operate through the rules of the Senate, which is an extension of the powers and privileges given to us by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

He also expressed appreciation for Kafilat Ogbara, a member of the House of Representatives, who countered Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims, advising foreign media to avoid “misrepresenting Nigeria.”