The petition filed by a Nigerian senator alleging sexual harassment against the senate president has been dismissed.
Godswill Akpabio, one of Nigeria’s most senior politicians, on Wednesday denied the allegations levelled against him by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The committee on ethics that was charged with probing the petition cited irregularities in procedure and limitations in law while hearing the petition subsequently.
“The petition is contrary to Senate rules and cannot be entertained,” ethics committee senator and chairman Neda Imasuen said.
He also said that Uduaghan had signed the petition personally instead of having someone else sign it, in violation of an order of the senate.
In a Friday interview with Arise Television, Senator Uduaghan alleged that Akpabio had made unwanted advances when she went to his home in southern Akwa Ibom state, on 8 December 2023.
She also alleged that Akpabio had on another occasion intimated that she should “take care of him” if she wanted her motions to be handled favourably in the senate.
The senator alleged that Akpabio behaved like a university lecturer who was consistently failing his student who had refused to offer him sex.
Akpabio, nevertheless, refuted this.
“I never at any point in time harassed any woman. I was brought up by my late single mother, and I have always had respect for women. I was even awarded the most gender-friendly governor in Nigeria,” he stated.
The issue has generated huge controversy in Nigeria with many calling for an independent investigation.
In a social media post, one of Akpabio’s predecessors as senate president, Bukola Saraki, suggested that the issues raised were too serious to be taken lightly.
Earlier on Wednesday, two groups of protesters gathered at the assembly grounds in the capital city of Abuja – one in favor of Akpabio and another in favor of his colleague, singing ‘Akpabio must go.’
Senator Uduaghan used Wednesday’s plenary to read the petition for an investigation into Akpabio’s behavior.
In his role as president, it was Akpabio who allowed Uduaghan to read the petition.
Before he became senate president just two years ago, Akpabio ruled the oil-rich Akwa Ibom state for eight years and was also minister of Niger Delta affairs under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
