Natasha vs. Akpabio: Lawmakers Now Lawbreakers— Iche
By Onome Naomi
Comrade Prince Saviour Iche expresses concern over the period of suspension given to Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan by the approval of the Senate President Godswill Akpabio; says the Senate has misrepresented the law they make if allegations such as sexual harassment can be suppressed rather than addressed.
Iche said he is particularly disappointed at the activities of some of the elected lawmakers. That a verbal confrontation from Natasha, who felt wronged by the indecent actions of the senate president towards her, has received backlash from her colleagues, who should have been in the best position to propose an inquest into the sexual harassment allegations.
Iche said,
“I have a big concern about the activities of the acclaimed lawmakers; some members of the House of Senate are not upright lawmakers but rather should be named lawbreakers; they ought to have known that there is a court injunction restricting the Senate from probing Natasha further but chose to ignore the law they must abide by, bending the laws to suit their purpose.”
“A committee was set up to address the situation within the Senate; out of 32 lawmakers, 13 of them didn’t sign authorization for suspension, and concerns have been raised about the apparent rush by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, chaired by Senator Neda Imaseun (LP, Edo South), in handling the case.”
“Meanwhile, the committee had initially scheduled the hearing for Tuesday, March 11, only for it to be abruptly rescheduled. Why didn’t the committee wait? The absence of ranking senators from the process shows we knew where it was heading,” as said by a senator who chose to remain anonymous. He said a few others went behind the other 31 prominent senators and dishonorably signed and imposed a 6-month suspension on Natasha with seized salaries and other privileges.”
“If our laws are binding, the senators who authorized that suspension would have been under investigation and arrest by now because this is a slap on the judiciary; the senators, instead of maintaining the laws of the land, are rather breaking the law.”
“When Natasha was ready with her petition, she submitted the petition to the senate president. If Nigeria is a country where things are done rightly, Akpabio will step aside for a neutral body to preside over Natasha’s application or petition, not the alleged (Godswill Akpabio). Is Akpabio now the judge over his own issue? What a government!!!!”
“Still on the issue of suspension, why was she given a six-month suspension with salary and privileges withdrawn? What’s her offense? As a wife and mother, will Natasha lay allegations without an iota of truth? Remember that this same Akpabio had a case of sexual harassment in 2020 by someone else. The senate president and his cohort of lawbreakers in the senate should resign and let Natasha be. Natasha’s case should never be swept under the carpet, for there is always Karma.”
“It is important that the human rights body challenge the abnormality in the Senate that we’ve seen so far. We know what our women go through in their primary place of assignments, especially in the government and educational sectors. Not addressing Natasha’s issue appropriately simply means women have no immunity at all and are susceptible to underhanded treatment. Natasha’s punishment has become a reference point to further silence women. No! We have to challenge it.”
“What have Nigerians benefitted from the essence of appointing senators? Only a few of these senators live up to standard in developing their communities; when anti-people’s policies created by the government set in, the senators will not challenge these policies head-on; they seldom check and balance the government’s excesses.”
In conclusion, Iche said as a human rights advocate, it is an error to see one’s rights trampled upon without being their voice. He said if truly this matter with Natasha and Akpabio is suppressed, it means that the Nigerian judiciary is now silencing the voice of Nigerian women. It’s high time all human rights groups come out in unison to challenge the lawbreakers in the Senate.
