Friday Lines (50) With
Dr Abubakar Alkali

01/03/2025

In July 2020, a certain Joy Nunieh the self-styled ‘Port Harcourt girl’ who served as acting MD of the interim management committee (IMC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) granted a tell-all interview to Arise TV where she made startling and wild sexual harassment allegations against the then minister Niger Delta affairs Godswill Akpabio.

During the interview, Ms Nunieh admitted that she slapped Godswill Akpabio whom she claimed, made sexual advances to her or betterstill had invited her to ‘go physical’ during a supposed ‘meeting’ in his guest house. In the interview, Ms Nunieh stated that Godswill Akpabio invited her to his guest house in Apo where he promised to use (or misuse) his position as the minister, Niger Delta affairs to upgrade her from an acting position to substantive MD of the NDDC in return for sexual favours. That’s very easy, he said. Of course it is very easy because all he needed to do was raise a ‘memo’ and get Tunde Sabiu to take it to Buhari who will sign it promptly. No checks required. Reading the memo before signing it is a waste of time according to the administrative template of Buhari.

Up till this moment, Sen Akpabio has not denied Ms Nunieh’s sexual harassment allegation nor sued her to court for defamation of character. The rest is history.

From the Joy Nunieh interview with Arise TV aired on 13th July 2020 onwards, it will dawn on any objective mind that it is only a matter of when not if before vintage Akpabio is exposed further by another woman as he walks blindfolded on his way to getting his hard-earned career crippled or even destroyed by women.

From that perspective, it was long time coming and wasn’t surprising when Sen Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, made a startling expose over an alleged sexual harassment by Sen. Akpabio. Curiuosly, on the same Arise TV where Joy Nunieh made the first documented allegation of sexual harassment against Akpabio, Sen. Natasha revealed a series of Sen Akpabio’s inappropriate behaviour towards her and even alleged that she is being victimised by the senate President for not ‘giving in’ to his sexual advances.

Some of the romantic cum sexual advances Natasha alleged that Akpabio made towards her include:

‘Since you like this room, I will create space so that we can have quality time together’

‘I am the chief presiding officer of the senate and I can make you happier’

‘You will enjoy if you take care of me’

‘I can visualise a night club and arrange a party for all of us to enjoy’

‘Come to my hotel room for a meeting’

‘You will like it’

It should be noted that senator Natasha didn’t have the time to reveal several other direct toasts made to her by Akpabio and such advances she may have received so far from other randy senators in the upper chamber during her interview with Arise TV. Clearly, journalists Rufai and Ayo acting on orders from the chairman Nduka Obaigbena, attempted to restrict Natasha from a tell-all to a ‘reveal-some’ interview.

To summarise the sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio, Natasha likened her ordeal at the senate to a female student who kept failing a course because she refused to sleep with the lecturer.

These are damning allegations indeed especially for a President of the senate who is the nation’s No. 3. They cannot be swept under the carpet even if to save Nigeria’s democracy because if the senate implodes, it will mean the nation’s democracy is over. The legislature is the hub of any democracy. Natasha’s allegations must be taken seriously.

Yes, senator Akpabio must resign as President of the senate. He is not above the law and has brought the senate into disrepute even though Natasha’s accusations remain allegations until proven otherwise. Akpabio should be a role model for the youths and not the other way round. What kind of inspiration and impression is he giving to the youths by his scandal and more scandal involving women? Clearly, the man Akpabio has an eye for beautiful sexy women which can be a natural trait but he must also keep himself in check and away from every beautiful sexy woman he comes across. Are women just a piece of meat or what?

Akpabio should remember that he is a top grade public office holder – the No.3 in Nigeria. Only heaven knows how many women have fallen prey of Sen Akpabio’s virus-like appetite for women. How many more women are coming out for further revelations now that Natasha and Joy Nunieh in the first instance have opened the floodgates? Can more allegations happen in Nigeria where people are afraid to say their mind for fear of victimisation especially when it involves highly placed government officials? Where one can get killed simply for saying the truth? Time shall tell.

The need for Akpabio to resign as senate President is moreso when juxtaposed with the need for Natasha to get a fair hearing.
The right to fair hearing is encapsulated in decision 36(1) of the constitution Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

Normally in Nigeria’s political cycles, any woman that dares to participate in politics and political activities to compete with the men is seen as an easy prey. It is like ‘she brought herself’ This is wrong especially when the person is Akpabio who was once a governor, minister and even attempted a shot at being the President of Nigeria. Are we saying that women should not be part of politics in Nigeria? Can’t we manage just 4 women in the senate without a scandal? How many women are Presidents of their country today including Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico?

The Natasha/Akpabio scandal is more worrisome when juxtaposed with the fact that Akpabio is said to be a good friend to Natasha’s husband. The fact that she is married should have set some boundaries for Akpabio.

The legislature is the hub of democracy and everything must be done to preserve its integrity.
Sen Natasha has made a very serious sexual harassment allegation against the chief presiding officer of the senate, Sen Godswill Akpabio. These wild allegations though unproven yet, have the tendency to destroy whatever is left of the senate’s integrity. Hence the need for a forensic and unfettered investigation into the allegations made by Sen Natasha.

The senate President cannot be a judge in his own case hence the need for him to resign and allow for a thorough investigation into the matter.

Without any dint of doubt, Sen Akpabio’s continued stay as President of the senate is untenable as it will jeopardise investigations into the matter. He will use his position as the No.3 to navigate his way out of the scandal. He will likely influence and cajole the allegedly normally submissive judges to do his bidding. Clearly, Sen Akpabio is a master in lobbying the judiciary. This he has proven many times over especially in the run-up to the 2019 and 2023 general elections. In fact, it is widely held that senator Akpabio didn’t win both elections but bulldozed his way through INEC and the judiciary to clinch victory. In March 2021, a federal high court in Uyo jailed the returning officer for Akwa Ibom North West senatorial ejection, Professor Peter Ogan, for 3 years after it was established beyond any shadow of doubt that the Prof rigged the election in favour of Akpabio.
The election rigger is in jail while the person who prodded him to rig the election in his favour is sitting as President of the senate. Prior to that incident, Akpabio has easily navigated his way through the Nigerian judiciary on many other occasions.

Akpabio is too powerful to lose against Natasha in any court case if he remains as senate President. It is pertinent to note here that Sen Akpabio can come back to his seat after the thorough investigation has been concluded. All that should be done is a friendly transfer of power to the deputy senate President Jibrin Barau who should be reminded not to use the seat to promote his agenda of becoming the next governor of Kano state in 2027.

The need for Senator Akpabio to step aside is moreso when juxtaposed with the fact that there are two cases in court over the matter with a possible third on the way. Natasha has sued Akpabio and demanded N100 billion in damages, Akpabio’s wife has sued Natasha and demanded N200 billion -twice the amount demanded by Natasha. Who knows how much Natasha’s husband Emmanuel Uduaghan will ask for if he goes ahead with his much anticipated suit against Akpabio? 2 court cases and a possible one on the way including the investigation by the senate ethics commitee made it imperative that Sen Akpabio steps down as President of the senate to allow for an unhindered investigation into these allegations.

Recall that in a Facebook post, Sen Akpabio’s senior legislative assistant Patrick Mfon, had disparaged Natasha by referring to her as a senator who thinks the business of lawmaking is all about pancaking her face and wearing see-through dresses to attract men’s attention.
This post is clearly derogatory and puts the victim in a state of low esteem and public ridicule.

Prior to the startling sexual harassment allegations, Sen Natasha and the senate president were involved in a heated exchange on the floor of the senate when the former accused the latter of allocating an obscure seat to her. While citing order 10 on privileges, Sen Natasha tried albeit unsuccessfully to draw the attention of the senate on her right to fair hearing. The senate President will have none of that as he overruled her, asked the sergeant-at-arms to remove her immediately, approved her suspension and referred the matter to the ethics committee to submit its report recommending Natasha’s suspension within two weeks.

Also recall that in 2018, Sen Akpabio clashed with the then senate President Bukola Saraki over seat allocation. Quite unlike Akpabio who asked the sergeant-at-arms to remove Natasha immediately, Saraki handled the situation maturely by explaining to Akpabio that his seat had to be changed because it had no microphone. Why did sen Akpabio ordered Natasha removed from the chamber immediately if there was no precursor between them?

Certainly, there is a smoking gun in the Natasha V Akpabio scandal. Although Akpabio’s supporters will use the opt-repeated mantra of ‘there is no evidence’ as a way out, the facts speak for themselves. For one, how could senator Natasha just wake up and accuse senator Akpabio of sexual harassment? Sen Natasha should hold on to any evidence she has and could even swear to an affidavit to back her allegations.

Natasha herself is no stranger to scandals and litigations. Recall that in 2020, just when Joy Nunieh and Akpabio were involved in an alleged sexual harassment scandal, Natasha sued the person she later married, Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri over what she called ‘Breach of promise to marry her’ inter alia. Natasha had also previously made sex-related allegations to a few public figures and celebrities as follows:

‘Yahaya Bello asked me out’

‘Reno Omokri made sexual advances to me’

‘Dino Melaye harassed me sexually’

Even though some of the celebrities wriggled their way out of the allegation successfully, it is clear that Natasha’s allegations against Akpabio is different and holds a lot of weight.
Who knows whether the seat reallocation by Akpabio was done on purpose to get Natasha to overreact and pave the way for her suspension from the senate? Your guess is as good as mine.

The Nigerian senate can do better without these sexual scandals.
For some reasons which included integrity and alleged corruption, the Nigerian senate holds the title of public enemy No. 1 in Nigeria today hence the need to investigate the Akpabio/Natasha scandal even if to clear the name of the senate as an institution.

As part of the sexual scandals involving the senate, in March 2019, the then senator-elect for Nassarawa North, Godiya Akwashiki was caught pants down in a hotel room with a married woman. The incident was captured in a video that went viral. Although the senator claimed that he is innocent and the incident was stage-managed to embarrass him, the scandal added to the series of scandals that rocked the senate in recent time.

The Natasha/Akpabio sexual harassment scandal should be a lesson for everyone including Natasha’s husband Chief Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri who obviously came short in protecting his wife from Akpabio. How could any man stay behind and pretend that he is ‘making a call’ as another man holds his wife’s hand tightly for a long time while pretending to show her round the rooms in his house? Why didn’t the Alema call his wife back immediately and tell Akpabio even jokingly ‘this is inappropriate sir’

The body language of the Alema of Warri shows that he is either timid or not very strong to speak to Godswill Akpabio to stay away from his wife even when Natasha has complained to him about Akpabio’s inappropriate behaviour towards her. Is it because of some political patronage and contacts the Alema enjoys from Godswill Akpabio?

Although he is not a Muslim, the Alema may wish to know that in Islam, one of the ways to make heaven is to protect your wife and even be protectively jealous towards her. This is enshrined in Quran 66:6.

To all indications, the Natasha sexual harassment allegation has the potential to rock the boat in Nigeria’s latest adventure as a democracy. The senate must redeem itself by shying away from all political sentiments and promptly voting for the resignation of Godswill Akpabio as President of the senate to allow for unhindered investigation into the Natasha/Akpabio sexual harassment allegation even if to set a deterrent to Casanovas and their wannabes hovering around both chambers of the National Assembly and turning the hallowed chambers into a theatre of the absurd.