Natasha Alleges Akpabio Made Sexual Advances—But She’s Not the First to Accuse Him

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, who recently had an altercation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over the reassignment of her seat on the Senate floor, has accused Nigeria’s third-highest-ranking official of sexual harassment.

In an interview on Arise TV on Friday, February 28, Senator Natasha claimed that tensions between her and the Senate President began after she rejected his repeated sexual advances. She narrated an incident that allegedly took place at Akpabio’s residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, in December 2023. According to her, Akpabio extended an inappropriate invitation, suggesting that she spend “quality time” with him.

“Sometime while my husband and I were in Akpabio’s house in Akwa Ibom, the Senate President held my hand and asked, ‘Do you like my house?’ Then he said, ‘Now that you are a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come and spend quality time here together. You’ll enjoy it.'”

“At that point, I pulled away from his hand because I didn’t understand what he meant,” she added.

Natasha, whose husband was present but a few steps behind at the time, said he grew suspicious of the Senate President’s intentions and later warned her never to visit Akpabio alone.

The senator further alleged that her refusal to entertain Akpabio’s advances led to repeated obstruction of her motions in the Senate.

“After my motion on the Ajaokuta Steel Company was repeatedly stepped down on the Senate floor, I went to see the Senate President in his office to ask why my motion wasn’t being considered.

“I asked him, ‘Sir, why won’t you take my motion?’ And he replied, ‘Natasha, I am the chief presiding officer of the Senate, and you can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me and make me happy.’

“At that point, I said, ‘Sir, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this.’ And he responded, ‘Well, the ball is in your court.’

“The motion was never taken by the Senate President. When it was eventually considered, it was the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over it.”

A visibly emotional Natasha, agitated during the interview, compared her experience in the Senate to that of a university student being unfairly failed for refusing to sleep with a lecturer.

“My story with Akpabio is similar to the experiences of female students who are continuously failed just because they refuse to sleep with their lecturers. That’s exactly what I’ve been facing, in simple terms.”

This is not the first time Akpabio has faced allegations of sexual harassment. In 2020, while serving as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, he was accused by Joy Nunieh, former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), who claimed she had slapped him at his guest house in Apo after he allegedly tried to harass her.

“Why did he not tell Nigerians that I slapped him in his guest house at Apo? I am the only woman who has slapped Akpabio. He thought he could come up on me. He tried to harass me sexually,” Nunieh said in an interview on Arise TV.