After a heated plenary session full of procedural issues and conflicting viewpoints, the Nigerian Senate on Wednesday denied a sexual harassment petition brought by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan came up to introduce the petition at the beginning of the session. She read it out loud before giving it to Akpabio, who at first approved it. But when Senate Chief Whip Senator Tahir Munguno contested the petition’s legality on procedural grounds, the issue swiftly turned divisive.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Munguno cautioned that any departure from established protocols could result in “chaos and anarchy,” citing Senate rules Order 40(4). Since Senate regulations forbid senators from physically signing and submitting their own petitions, he contended that the petition was procedurally faulty. Munguno claimed that the petition was invalid since Senator Natasha had signed it herself. In response, Akpoti-Uduaghan maintained that the focus of her court complaint was on disparaging comments made about her attire rather than sexual harassment. She insisted that her petition be taken into consideration, citing Order 10, which permits any senator to rise and speak at any moment.
In an effort to defuse the situation, former Senate Leader Abdullahi Adamu proposed that the petition be sent to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct for assessment because Akpabio had already approved it. This idea, however, caused even more disagreements, which resulted in a flurry of points of order and a momentary disturbance in the chamber.
The claim that no senator can write and sign their own petition was reaffirmed by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele. Additionally, he emphasized that the issue was already in court because Akpabio’s wife had filed a lawsuit, putting it sub judice and outside the Senate’s purview.
“As a man accused of sexual harassment, I feel sorry for you, Mr. President,” Bamidele remarked. But the Constitution and our Rule Book, not our feelings, must serve as our compass. We must respect due process, even though you accepted the petition out of passion. According to Akpabio’s justification, he accepted the petition to avoid giving the impression that he was purposefully suppressing Akpoti-Uduaghan because he was involved in the case, not because he disregarded Senate regulations.
“I didn’t want people who don’t know our rules to think I was purposefully silencing her, so I took that petition,” Akpabio said. Akpabio decided that the plenary should go on in spite of efforts to ask for a closed-door meeting. The controversial issue was ultimately resolved—at least in the legislative chamber—when the Senate rejected the petition and reaffirmed the Senate Leader’s position.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
