Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has called on the Senate not to dismiss the sexual harassment petition filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, had accused Akpabio of sexually harassing her, a claim the Senate President has strongly denied.
However, on Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Ethics dismissed the petition, declaring it “dead on arrival.”
Reacting to the development, Ezekwesili criticized the decision, urging the lawmakers to handle the matter with transparency rather than dismissing it outright.
In a post on her X page on Thursday, Ezekwesili said the senate would be doing itself a disservice should it treat the allegation with levity.
She added that the petition must be openly discussed in a public hearing that the accused does not preside over.
“Our national assembly which comprises the senate and house of representatives belongs to the Nigerian people and not to politicians of any stripe and status,” Ezekwesili said.
“This is why the national assembly is called a public institution. No individual nor collection of individuals and their groups can capture a public institution and use to their personal benefit or advantage.
“Whenever a situation as the one involving Senators Natasha Akpoti and Akpabio occurs, the lawmakers must understand the Nigerian public want transparency and full disclosure.
“Dismissing a serious accusation against the senate president just like the senators irresponsibly did yesterday is a democratic aberration. It cannot stand. Never.
“What happened yesterday in the senate chamber where a senate president presided over a grave matter involving him, was farcical and a blot on our democracy.
“It is in our public interest that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition be urgently given the seriousness it deserves to defend the institutional integrity of our senate.”
The senate’s ethics committee has recommended Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension for engaging the senate president in a heated debate over seating arrangements.
(TheCable)