•••••Ebira group insists on recall, citing international embarrassment
Suspended Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) has taken her ordeal to Sky News, where she alleged that endured sexual advances of Senate President Godswill Akpabio for over a year.
Despite the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Kogi State, Hale Longpet, denying knowledge of any recall process for Akpoti-Uduaghan, Ebira indigenes insist that the recall process is ongoing, and endorsed by majority of the electorate in the area.
The senator reiterated during the interview with the popular British Television network on Wednesday that her suspension was a direct consequence of her outcry against Akpabio’s sexual harassment and not the gross misconduct the Senate reported.
According to her, the Senate president continually told her that she must “please him” if she wanted to enjoy her privileges and perks of office as a senator.
She said, “I made an allegation of sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on March 5, 2025, and the next day, I was suspended for six months. I believe my suspension is illegal, unjust, and just a way of silencing me.
“I experienced sexual harassment over the past year in the hands of the Senate president, and this sexual harassment, because I refused to yield to his demands, turned into malice whereby my rights and privileges as a senator were deprived.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan said she found the courage to speak up, as the breaking point was moving her from her former seat.
“I have had to endure a whole lot in silence,” she added.
THE Ebira indigenes said they resolved to bring the embattled senator back home, as the embarrassment she reportedly caused the senatorial district had, unfortunately, taken an “international dimension.”
This stand was taken in a statement, yesterday, jointly signed by the President of Kogi Central Elites Forum (KCEF), Ibrahim Abdulazeez Ibrahim, and Secretary, Akerejola Johnson.
The constituents told Nigerians to disregard the deliberate mischief by the camp of the Kogi Central senator suggesting that people were deceived to come out for the recall exercise.
“No one is sponsoring this recall. Our people are largely united on this cause. From the history of Ebiras, you know we cannot be deceived. What she has done has been mainly propaganda. Even some of us that supported her on social media then are no longer with her. We cannot trade the integrity of the state and Nigeria for the selfish, juvenile tendencies of a senator.
“A matter as simple as not taking an assigned seat in the Senate should not be one that would warrant a ‘sexual harassment’ national embarrassment of this nature, especially where all evidences point to blackmail. This is not who we are as Ebiras,” the statement reads.
On the issue of the REC disclaiming the exercise, the constituents said the response was misconstrued.
“Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no official role until after this signature collection phase. We are the ones that are doing the recall, the petitioners. We have to ensure that the required threshold is met before formally presenting it for verification. This is where INEC comes in,” they noted.
While urging the public to disregard any mischievous interpretation of the recall process, they said politicians would always release statements based on their leanings and selfish interests.
The stated: “For us as Ebira people, we are determined to bring Sen.Akpoti-Uduaghan back home. While she is at home, she may learn the rudiments of representing her constituents better.
“Ordinarily, we would never have allowed anyone to intimidate our daughter, if she was on her right. But in this particular instance, she disrespected the Senate, which has clear rules, and went on to introduce slants that have never been heard of in the history of the Senate.” (Guardian)
