When the plenary session started on March 5, 2025, after a week-long break, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the member for Kogi Central, made a spectacular entrance into the Senate Chamber with her spouse.
Before she sat down in the room, her husband had given her a quick kiss in a heartwarming moment.
Natasha took up her seat in a freshly created seat that was the center of ongoing conflict.
Following her claims of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, it was claimed that this scandal has increased tensions within the Senate.
Asserting that he has done appropriately, the Senate President has vehemently refuted these accusations. However, the incident has sparked debates over the parliamentary assembly’s etiquette and behavior rules.
As the plenary session began, all eyes were on Senator Natasha as she readied herself to fulfill her legislative duties, despite the scandal on the horizon.
Concurrent with the Ethics Committee announcing a probe into the Kogi senator’s suspected violation of Senate rules, supporters of the lawmaker gathered outside the National Assembly.
Read Also: Athena Centre Launches Transparency Report Exposing Widespread Financial Secrecy in Nigerian Universities
The committee, which will investigate the allegations against Natasha, is chaired by Senator Neda Imaseun. Notwithstanding the use of tear gas by security personnel, the demonstrators persisted in calling on President Bola Tinubu to step in and expressing their disapproval of the way women are treated in the Senate.
The claims of sexual harassment have been presented as a serious violation of human rights.
