Female Senator, Mrs. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who alleged sexual harassment against the powerful President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has been suspended.
The decision, made on Thursday, March 6, 2024, followed a recommendation from the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
The suspension will last six months, during which the senator’s salary and security details will be withdrawn. She will also be barred from accessing the National Assembly premises.
Tightening the restrictions further, her office will be locked, and her legislative aides will not receive their salaries during this period.
The Senate ruled out reconsidering her suspension until the six-month term ends but left her with a caveat: she must offer a formal apology for reconsideration.
Senate Suspends Natasha for Six Months, Spares Aides' Salaries pic.twitter.com/nXCmXMKDYt
— ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) March 6, 2025
To appeal the suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan must submit a written apology to the Senate for violating its rules.
Her suspension followed a heated confrontation in the Senate, where she protested the reassignment of her seat by Akpabio. She arrived at a plenary session to find her nameplate removed and her seat reassigned, which she argued was an attempt to silence her.
The suspension was put to a vote after she was denied the opportunity to speak, with the majority siding with the Ethics Committee’s report.
They switched off Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s mic when she tried to speak at the Senate, yet…..
— Rinu Oduala 🔥🔫 (@SavvyRinu) March 6, 2025
No Labour Party, PDP or APC senator, both male and female, could stand up to say this is wrong! We don’t have a country.
pic.twitter.com/MmHiNlVzNT
Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro supported the committee’s recommendation, stating that her actions warranted disciplinary measures. He likened the move to “correcting a child,” referencing Nigerian cultural norms.
Natasha Not Standing Alone
The senator’s ordeal has generated considerable sympathy from major groups, particularly women.
In a message of solidarity sent via her official X account handle, former Minister of Education and co-founder of Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG), Dr. (Mrs.) Oby Ezekwesili praised Akpoti-Uduaghan. She stated that Natasha had “inspired a generation” and “all credible citizens” through her defiance.
Ezekwesili added a cryptic message directed at those in power: “Did I just hear a voice of a Senator say: ‘She’s not coming back’ to Senator @NatashaAkpoti? Wonderful. When men, because of little power, fleetingly acquired, start speaking like they are God, we all must remember what History reveals of their kind.”
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