‘Sexual scandal’: Saraki asks Akpabio to step aside for probe into Natasha Akpoti’s claims

• Akpoti-Uduaghan had accused Akpabio of making sexual advances at his office and home in Akwa Ibom.
• The female lawmaker also compared her ordeal to a student being punished for rejecting a lecturer’s sexual demand.

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has urged an impartial probe into the accusations surrounding the ongoing dispute between Godswill Akpabio and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The conflict involving Akpabio, the current senate president, and Akpoti-Uduaghan, a senator representing Kogi central, emerged following a recent reshuffling of seating arrangements in the chamber.

Akpoti-Uduaghan strongly opposed her newly assigned seat after the adjustment, insisting that the decision was deliberately made to restrict her from speaking out.

Tensions escalated on Friday when Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the senate president of attempting to have intimate relations with her at his office and home in Akwa Ibom.

“Mine is the case of a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him,” she said.

The accusation provoked widespread reactions from several Nigerians, leading to a lawsuit against Akpoti-Uduaghan by Ekaette Akpabio, the wife of the senate president, alongside calls for investigation.

Expressing his stance, Saraki, through a social media post, stated that the senate committee on ethics, privileges, and public petitions must examine the claims raised by Akpoti-Uduaghan.

He further insisted that “both parties must submit to the investigation, fully cooperate with the committee, and stake their claims before it”.

‘This is not the first time a Senate President would appear before the Committee to aid it in the conduct of a transparent and open investigation,” the post reads.

“I remember during the 8th Senate when a Senator claimed that I imported an official car for my use as Senate President and that customs duty was not paid on the vehicle. Since I knew the claim was false, the matter was referred to the Ethics Committee and I appeared before the committee to testify, in the full glare of the media.

“From my testimony, it was clear the Senator who made the allegation got his facts wrong and was only being mischievous.

“Also, on the day the committee submitted its report for debate on the floor, I stepped down and allowed my deputy to preside. The transparent manner in which the investigation and the debate on the report were handled assured everybody that there was no case. This is a precedent that the leadership of the 10th Senate should follow.”

“The due process should be followed in this case, such that where anybody is found to have committed any wrong, the wrong should be pointed out and corrected. Also, the right remedy should be made.”