CSOs berates Natasha, says sexual harassment against Akpabio baseless, questionable 

…Pass vote of confidence on Senate President leadership

Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Peace, Security, Good Governance, Equity and Justice has faulted Senator Natasha Uduaghan for accusing the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.

The groups also declared a vote of confidence on the leadership of the Senate President on Thursday while addressing a World Press Conference by the National Coordinator Comrade James Okonkwo in conjunction with Media Practitioners for Development (MPD), National Coordinator, Mr Johnson Eze at the NUJ Secretariat, Utako, Abuja.

According to the civil society organizations, for about 3 weeks now, the media space has been inundated by vitriol, falsehood and verbal attacks being propagated by Senator Natasha Uduaghan and her illicit sponsors in unrelenting effort to tarnish the image of the President of the Senate, Sen Godswill Obot Akpabio.

This week again, the matter took international dimensions as Sen Natasha illegally attended Inter- Parliamentary Union meeting in Geneva Switzerland and further vented the same falsehood with phantom emotional outcry of victimization in Nigerian Senate, the groups expressed concern.

They said, ordinarily, “we would have ignored this matter especially as the Senate in conformity with standing rules has addressed it but a woman crying victimization is like a sheep found dead in lion’s Dane.

“It requires conscious clarification to decipher the innocent. Followers of this development would have noticed that she has been changing her narratives and allegations at every instance with emotion and sophistry.”

According to the CSOs, like the Biblical Pontius wife did to Joseph, Sen Natasha turned the well-intended administrative norm of rearranging sitting position in the Senate into an issue of rancor and vituperation when she against every persuasion refused to accept the sit allocated to her.

In expression of unprovoked anger she threw caution and common sense to the winds and randomly violated Senate rules, the group said.

Mr Eze emphasised, ” as a matter of fact, the issue is in court. We are passing a vote of confidence on the leadership of the Senate President.”

Comrade Okonkwo further said, “Firstly, she refused to take the sit allocated to her. Secondly, she broke protocol and spoke when the presiding officer has not asked her to do so. Thirdly, she used foul language in addressing the Senate to the extent of infractions against the red chamber which surely will earn her sanctions, she came up with the flansy allegation of sexual harassment in an attempt to rope in the presiding officer sin as to get her off the hook.

“The 109 Senators cannot be fooled. As a result, they were able to read between the lines, separate the chaff from the grain and penalize her with suspension in accordance with the relevant Senate rules.”

The group said is committed to enhancing the 35 percent affirmative action and all barriers inhibiting women participation in politics, adding, “a prominent human Rights lawyer once stated you cannot sexually harass a woman in her husband’s presence.

“Why didn’t she complain of sexual harassment all this while until she ran afoul of the Senate Rules? At this juncture, we make bold to state that her allegations of sexual harassment against the Senate President is baseless, questionable and an affront to truth and logic.

“We urge her to stop distracting the Nigerian Senate our our nation has more serious issues demanding legislative action, His Excellency Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio in presiding over the Senate effectively transparently and inclusively.

“The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Peace, Security, Good Governance, Equity and Justice and Media Practitioners for Development therefore passes a vote of confidence on him.”