?claims Akpoti-Uduaghan allegation diversionary

The media aide to the President of the Senate, Honourable Eseme Eyiboh, and the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Onyekachi Peter Nwebonyi, have faulted the demand by former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, that Senator Godswill Akpabio should submit himself to the Senate Committee on Ethics for proper investigation regarding allegations raised by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

In a statement titled ?Akpabio-Natasha: Let?s Protect the Institution, Not Individuals,? which he personally signed, Saraki called for ?an open, transparent, and honest investigation by the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions? to establish the veracity of Akpoti-Uduaghan?s claims.

Saraki recalled that during his tenure as President of the Eighth Senate, he voluntarily submitted himself for an open investigation when a colleague accused him of allegedly using his office to import vehicles without paying the required customs duties. He urged the incumbent Senate President, Akpabio, to follow the same path.

However, speaking on Journalists? Hangout, a TVC-monitored programme, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President dismissed Saraki?s comparison, stating that the instance cited by the former Senate President was entirely different from the current situation, as Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had not submitted any formal petition before the Senate Committee on Ethics.

He said: ?What Bukola Saraki said has no basis for consideration at this level. There is no petition?neither to the police, the courts, nor the Senate?regarding sexual harassment. It is simply someone exercising their right to public communication, which is freedom of expression.

?She went on a television platform to make the claim; another person could have gone to Wuse Market to make the same allegation. And you are asking the institution to investigate?

?This is completely different from what happened to Senator Saraki during his tenure regarding the car issue. In this case, there is no petition anywhere. There is no petition on sexual harassment. So, on what basis will the Senate set up a panel? Who is the complainant? There is none. What he (Saraki) is suggesting is baseless.?

Similarly, in a statement, Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Onyekachi Peter Nwebonyi, dismissed the allegations of sexual advances leveled against the Senate President by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing them as a diversionary tactic.

Nwebonyi claimed that the allegations made by the Kogi Central lawmaker were a ploy to evade her summons by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions.

He also faulted Saraki?s demand that Akpabio submit himself for investigation, arguing that there was no similarity between Saraki?s past situation and the current allegations against the Senate President.

His statement reads in part: ?Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki?s appeal for transparency and institutional protection is noted, but his attempt to draw a parallel between his own past case and the current false allegations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio is fundamentally flawed. The two situations are worlds apart in context, substance, and motivation.

?In Saraki?s case, the matter revolved around his official duties as Senate President?specifically, an accusation concerning the importation of an official vehicle. The claim was factually incorrect, and Saraki, knowing this, subjected himself to scrutiny to clear his name. It was an administrative and procedural issue directly tied to his office, and a swift resolution through the Senate Ethics Committee restored confidence in the institution.

?In contrast, what we have before us today is a case of personal, unsubstantiated, and conveniently timed accusations?claims of sexual harassment that supposedly took place over a year ago but surfaced only after the accuser was summoned for disciplinary action. There was no prior complaint, no record of distress, no mention to her husband, and no disclosure to female colleagues in the Senate. Instead, the accusation was made only at the point of reckoning, in a desperate attempt to divert attention from legitimate disciplinary proceedings.?

Nwebonyi further argued that accepting Saraki?s position would set a dangerous precedent where baseless allegations could be used to manipulate the Senate.

?It is well known that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has a history of making reckless and false allegations of sexual harassment against prominent figures, including Reno Omokri, Dino Melaye, and Yahaya Bello. These accusations always follow the same pattern: wild claims, media noise, and no evidence. Now, the same strategy is being deployed against the Senate President, not because she is seeking justice, but because she is desperately avoiding accountability for her own actions.?

He pointed out that Akpoti-Uduaghan never brought the complaint before the Senate but instead chose to make it a media issue.

?If she truly believed she was being victimized due to an alleged sexual harassment incident, the proper forum to raise such a grievance would have been the Senate itself. The Senate only responds to and investigates issues formally raised within its chambers, not in a television interview.?

Furthermore, he questioned why Akpoti-Uduaghan was appointed Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Local Content on November 21, 2023, under Akpabio?s leadership if she had genuinely been harassed by him.

?Saraki rightly speaks about protecting the Senate?s integrity, but true protection of the institution means ensuring that its processes are not hijacked by baseless, opportunistic claims. If Natasha has any real grievance about events that occurred outside the Senate, let her pursue those through the appropriate legal channels?not use the Red Chamber and the media as a stage for diversionary theatrics.?

?The correct course of action is clear:

1. Natasha should first answer to the Senate Ethics Committee for her misconduct.

2. If she believes she has a valid sexual harassment claim, she should file a case in the appropriate legal forum, not use the Senate and the media as a shield against accountability.

3. The Senate must resist the temptation to legitimize a distraction campaign designed to avoid legitimate scrutiny.

?Dr. Saraki?s appeal to precedent is misplaced. His case was about official duties and was addressed in a manner that reinforced institutional accountability. This case, however, is about a personal vendetta and a desperate attempt to escape disciplinary action.

?The Senate and Nigerians should not fall for this diversionary tactic. The Senate must stay focused, maintain order, and refuse to be blackmailed into legitimizing what is clearly an opportunistic and diversionary falsehood.? (Nigerian Tribune)

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