The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has urged Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to seize the opportunity to apologise to the Senate for a possible reconsideration of her six-month suspension.
Mr Akpabio said the Senate, under his leadership, remains open to reconciliation and ensuring peace.
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He warned that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s approach to her grievances might discourage political stakeholders from appointing women to high-ranking positions in the future.
The senate president made these comments during plenary on Thursday after senators unanimously passed a voice of confidence in his leadership.
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“We are still open to making sure that we remain in peace. We left room for her to recognise that what she is doing may even frighten a lot of men in future from even appointing or selecting female deputy governors.
“You can imagine if somebody like Kamala, the immediate past vice president of the United States, were to go on CNN to say that President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her by shaking her hand or by holding her hand to show her the office of the president. That automatically means that nobody will pick another woman as vice president,” he said.
Mr Akpabio pleaded with politicians to continue giving women a chance in governance.
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“But I have four daughters, so I want to plead with politicians to still give my four children a chance. Do not take the action of one person and punish others,” he said.
Senate confidence in women remains strong
Despite the controversy, Mr Akpabio reaffirmed that the 10th Senate remains committed to gender inclusion.
He noted that all four female senators currently in the chamber serve as committee chairpersons to give women a voice in parliament.
“My religion and the Bible forbid that, that the sins of the father will no longer be visited on the children. So please, we still have absolute confidence in our female folks. In this 10th Assembly of the Senate, we have only four women and the four of them are all committee chairmen, intentionally, in order to give a voice to women in the parliament,” he noted.
The senate president assured his colleagues that he would not take their vote of confidence for granted and encouraged them to remain focused on their legislative duties.
“So, I thank you for this vote of confidence. I will not take it for granted and I also have confidence in you and your ability to continue to contribute your quota towards nation building. Let’s remain focused on why we are here. This is a distraction, a diversionary. My God Almighty bless all of you.”
Decision to suspend Akpoti-Uduaghan was unanimous
Mr Akpabio reiterated that the decision to suspend Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was not personal but a unanimous decision by the Senate.
He accused her of misrepresenting the facts surrounding her suspension on media platforms, including Brekete Radio, a human rights radio station in Abuja and Arise Television.
“It’s also important for the public to know that whatever decision we arrive at here is unanimous and I recall the last decision we took which concerned one of our sisters, Distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. I’m also aware that when she left the chambers, she went to Brekete Radio and Arise Television, and she distorted the facts,” he added.
Apoti-Uduagan’s behaviour embarrassing Nigeria
Mr Akpabio maintained that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s decision to take her grievances to the Inter-Parliamentary Union was an attempt to embarrass the country.
“I’m aware further that she has now externalised 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.
“But I want to thank Rt. Honourable member Kafilat Ogbara, who had to give a press conference in New York to caution the international press not to vilify Nigeria but to note that the facts presented by her were totally out of tune with what occurred in the Nigerian parliament and that we have our own internal mechanisms of resolving issues in Nigeria.”
The senate president criticised Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan for seeking external intervention without allowing due process within the judiciary and the Senate to take its course.
“Outside this parliament, we also have the judiciary which she is even standing before the judiciary, so I don’t know why she would…………even here she has brought a petition and she has not allowed us to even look into it. She went to court and then she has not allowed the court to look into it.
He maintained that the Senate operates under the rule of law and the Nigerian Constitution, and that there are internal mechanisms for resolving disputes among senators.
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“She has gone to the international community, and she may not even allow the international community to look into it. She might decide to run to……..I don’t know where. I don’t want to be misquoted. But 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 grund norm, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
With the Senate leaving room for reconciliation, the ball is now in Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s court to decide. Whether she will take Mr Akpabio’s advice and apologise or continue seeking redress through the judiciary and international bodies is uncertain.
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