Former Minister of Education and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has strongly condemned the incidents that took place at the Nigerian Senate involving Senators Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Godswill Akpabio.
Ezekwesili’s reaction follows the submission of a petition by Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, accusing Senate President Akpabio of sexual harassment. In an open letter to the Nigerian Senate, which was also shared on X, Ezekwesili criticized the decision to have the Senate President preside over a matter as serious as the sexual harassment allegation made against him.
Ezekwesili termed it “farcical” for Akpabio to oversee the proceedings concerning the accusation and made two key demands. She called for the swift appointment of an independent investigator to handle the petition against the Senate President by Akpoti-Uduaghan. Additionally, she urged that the status of the proceedings by the Senate’s Ethics and Privileges Committee be elevated into a public hearing to ensure full transparency and disclosure.
In her letter, Ezekwesili stressed that a public hearing would allow for the matter to be thoroughly discussed and for the public to gain insight into the proceedings. She emphasized the importance of transparency, stating that the National Assembly belongs to the Nigerian people and not to politicians of any stripe or status.
Ezekwesili wrote, “Our National Assembly, which comprises the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives, belongs to the Nigerian People and not to politicians of any stripe and status. This is why the National Assembly is called a Public Institution. No individual nor collection of individuals and their groups can capture a Public Institution and use it to their personal benefit or advantage.”
She further condemned the dismissal of the serious accusation against the Senate President by lawmakers, calling it a “Democratic Aberration.” She stated, “What happened yesterday in the Senate Chamber where a Senate President presided over a grave matter involving him, was farcical and a blot on our Democracy.”
Ezekwesili concluded by calling on the Nigerian Senate to act correctly and urgently address the situation to preserve the integrity of the Senate. “It is in our Public Interest that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition be urgently given the seriousness it deserves to defend the institutional integrity of our Senate,” she said.
