“Now that you’re a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come spend quality moments here, you will enjoy it.”
Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi central) has leveled severe allegations against the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, accusing him of making inappropriate sexual advances toward her.
The lawmaker made the allegations during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, citing a pattern of personal and political frustrations she has faced as a result of rejecting Akpabio’s advances.
Detailing her experience, Natasha recounted an incident that occurred on December 8, 2023, a day before both her and Akpabio’s birthdays, when she and her husband were in Akwa Ibom for a celebration hosted by the senate president.
According to her, Akpabio attempted to isolate her during a tour of his residence to make these advances at her.
She said, “It all started on the 8th of December, 2023, which was a day before his birthday and my birthday, we are birthday mates. We were all in Akwa-Ibom because he had a big fanfare in the stadium. So myself, my husband, and a few of his close friends, we went to Akwa-Ibom.
At first, we were at Ikot Ekpene, where his house is, then we all moved to his house in Uyo. He held my hand and said he wanted to show me around his house. My husband was walking behind us, just the three of us, walking around from room to room.
He showed me the beautiful interior and then I noticed that he hastened his pace while still holding my hand and my husband was catching up whenever he could and then he (Akpabio) got to this particular sitting room, and he said, do you like my house? I said, of course, sir. Every room is beautiful, nice interior, quality taste.
“He said, now that you’re a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come spend quality moments here, you will enjoy it.”
Natasha stated that she immediately pulled away, feeling uncomfortable with the remark. She noted that her husband, who was nearby, seemed suspicious and later questioned her about the conversation. However, she chose to downplay the incident at the time.
“At that point, I just pulled away, and I was like, I don’t really understand what exactly that meant. But then when I turned around, I saw my husband was already near me and the way my husband looked at me and looked at him, I was beginning to wonder, did he hear part of that statement or not?
“That evening, my husband asked me, Natasha, what did the senate president say to you? I thought, should I tell him that he was speaking about bringing me there at a special time for us to have a good time? Or should I just kill it there? but I know how much my husband adores the senate president, he loves him as a brother, my husband would do anything to support him. So I told my husband nothing. I can’t remember what I created, but I just gave him some words to manage, to mask what was said.”
Allegations of political retaliation
The senator further alleged that her rejection of Akpabio’s advances led to deliberate political frustrations, particularly in her efforts to push a motion for the investigation of corruption in Ajaokuta Steel Company. She claimed that despite listing the motion multiple times, it was repeatedly suppressed by the senate president.
“I thought that was going to be the end. But then in February, I wanted to move a motion for the investigation on the corrupt practices in Ajaokuta steel company. I listed that motion five times, it was the sixth time that it was listed on the other paper that was approved. Many senators can testify to that.
Each time the motion is listed, just before he takes it, he will say, oh, Senator Natasha, we can’t take this motion because the mood of the senate does not accommodate it. Or he will speak on others and then let it drag so that just before the motion is taken, the time will be well spent.
Natasha revealed that she was advised by colleagues to meet with Akpabio privately to appeal for his support. She described an encounter in his office where he allegedly made an inappropriate proposition saying, “Natasha, I’m the chief presiding officer of the senate. You can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me. At that point, I said, sir, I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear this. He said, well, the ball is in your court.”
Fearing the implications of speaking out, she refrained from telling her husband the full details of the conversation but urged him to personally appeal to Akpabio on her behalf. She added that her husband later met with the senate president in London to discuss the matter which he still refused to take
According to her, “Finally, my motion was taken. It was the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau that actually took it.”
Akpabio’s “nightclub” remark
Natasha also linked Akpabio’s controversial “nightclub” remark to past conversations she had with him. She said that it was not a mere slip of the tongue but rather a reflection of his personal inclinations.
“Akpabio had earlier told me there are ways we can have fun. If we travel he has a way of basically creating a party or a nightclub in the space and I would have fun and all of that. So that nightclub incident statement was not a mistake it was more like out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Natasha presented additional evidence to support her claims against Akpabio, including printed screenshots of phone calls. She further alleged that she was indirectly threatened by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, in the wake of her accusations.
According to Natasha, she received a call from Sen. Bamidele at 12:14 a.m., during which he expressed concerns about the political fallout of the allegations.
“The leader of the Senate, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, called me and said, ‘You know, in the wake of all this rancor, if the Senate President goes down, I will go down too.’ I asked, ‘Are you calling me to threaten me?’ At that point, I could hear murmurs in the background. It was clear to me that the senate president was on speaker phone.”
She recounted that Bamidele warned her about the potential consequences of the situation, suggesting that if Akpabio was forced to resign or faced severe backlash, she would also suffer repercussions.
“He said there was a lot of pressure and attacks on the senate president, and if things escalate. if he resigns or faces consequences. I should know that I, too, will be held responsible.”
Natasha noted that she respects Bamidele and believes he may have been coerced into making the call. After dropping the line, she received another call 12 minutes later at 12:26 a.m., this time from Senate President Akpabio himself.
He said, “I have been attacked. My wife has not slept for days. She’s received lots of insults all because of you.
According to her, Akpabio allegedly made a chilling remark about suppressing dissent.
“He said, if anybody over the age of 20 dares to confront me, I will take that person down.”
She urged the Department of State Services (DSS) and the National Security Services (NSS) to retrieve the chat records for verification.
Natasha also raised concerns about what she described as a “silent degradation” of senators whose seats were secured through court rulings rather than direct electoral declarations. She alleged that such lawmakers are being treated as inferior to their colleagues who were sworn in earlier.
She further noted that despite being a first-time senator like many of her colleagues, she was not given a seat alongside them, allegedly due to the delay in her assumption of office following legal battles.
Senate seat dispute and defamation lawsuit
Trouble had started two weeks ago when Natasha confronted Akpabio over the reallocation of her seat in the senate chamber. In the heated exchange of words, Akpabio called on the senate security personnel to take her out of the chambers.
She later explained that her refusal to move to the newly allocated seat was because she was not earlier informed and that the cameras will not be able to capture her at the new sitting position.
Reacting to this action, Sen. Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South) berated her actions clarifying that the senate is not for content creation.
Sen. Natasha went further to file a defamation lawsuit against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
At the center of the controversy is a post titled “Is the Local Content Committee of the Senate Natasha’s Birthright?” The post included a statement suggesting that Natasha believed being a lawmaker was merely about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”
Additionally, she requested that the court order the defendants to pay N100 billion in general damages and N300 million in litigation costs.
Parliament Reports recalls that Natasha had yesterday, took to her Instagram handle, vowing to expose the leadership style Akpabio.
Her declaration comes after she was referred to the Senate’s Ethics and Disciplinary Committee following a confrontation with Akpabio over a seating arrangement dispute.
She stated that she was ready to appear before the committee but insisted that the proceedings should be open to the public rather than conducted behind closed doors.
In her post, she called for a live broadcast of the probe.
She wrote, “Good morning courageous people of Kogi central, Kogi state and Nigeria. This petition came to my notice a few hours ago.
“As much as I have refrained from publicly speaking on the matter and a lot of occurrences at the Senate under Senate President Akpabio, it’s about time I break my silence.
“@arisenewsofficial, set a date and I shall be in your studio in person. Spare no questions.
“And to Nigerians, please be sure to join the probe which I shall insist would be covered live.
“The next few days and weeks shall be interesting but will shape the standard and quality of Nigeria’s leadership.”
Natasha’s reaction followed a petition filed against her by the Northern Youths Advocacy for Excellence to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.
The petition accused her of corruption, abuse of power, and mistreatment of staff within the Senate Committee on Local Content, which she previously chaired.
The petition urged the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions to conduct a thorough investigation into her alleged “illegal, subversive, and intimidating activities” and impose necessary disciplinary measures.
Committee funds mismanagement allegations
In a separate allegation, Natasha was accused of financial misconduct during her tenure as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Local Content. However, she defended her record, stating that she left ₦13 million in the committee’s Sterling Bank account when she handed over, despite being encouraged to divert funds for personal use.
Speaking during her interview on Arise Television, she recounted an encounter with the committee’s clerk, Mrs. Edith Aja, in January, during which she was informed of the monthly operational fund allocations to National Assembly committees.
“The clerk approached me in January and informed me that the first month’s payment had been received. She explained that every committee in the National Assembly receives ₦950,000 monthly as an operational cost. According to her, the money was meant for logistics, mail dispatches, and refreshments during committee meetings.”
She alleged that she was also informed of an unofficial practice where unused funds were distributed among committee members and staff.
“She told me that the usual practice was that if the funds were not utilised for any official purpose, they were to be shared. I, as a chairperson, I will take a part of it. I will give some to my deputy, and the rest of the money will be shared amongst the staff of the local content committee.”
Rejecting this norm, she stated that she refused to engage in any form of personal enrichment using committee funds.
“I said that money is not meant to enrich my pockets or the pockets of the staff. I would not want to collect this so-called impress. Basically, I never took a kobo out of that in the name of impress. I never gave my deputy then, who is Senator Ede Dafinone, any impress. He can verify and attest to that. I didn’t allow any of the staff to take any money because that is taxpayer’s money.”
She further revealed that after she left office, the ₦13 million that remained in the account was subsequently withdrawn by the committee’s clerk, leaving a balance of only ₦123,000.
