By Tonye Clinton Jaja
The President of the Senate, Godswill Obot Akpabio-GOA is making matters worse for himself!!!
According to The Punch newspaper of 8th March 2025, GOA said:
“Speaking at an event to commemorate International Women’s Day, Akpabio raised concerns that he was merely her latest victim, saying previous allegations by Natasha had turned out to be false.
He said, ‘’It is only yesterday that I realised that what we are talking about only happened when there was a change of seat…”
According to his logic, nobody should believe Senator Natasha because there were some people in the past that allege that she falsely accused them of sexually harassing her.
Ironically, if we agree with the said logic, it also means that we should not listen to or take anything that GOA says as the truth on the grounds that there are also some persons whom GOA had falsely accused in the past!!!
One of such persons is Dr. Joi Nunieh, former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
According to the said Dr Joi Nunieh, GOA (in his capacity as the former Minister of the Niger Delta) falsely accused her of a lot of allegations as a smokescreen to cover his own several acts of corruption and attempted sexual harassment against Dr. Joi Nunieh!!!
As a lasting solution to this matter, my suggestion is this:
The Senate can resolve all these through the use of modern-day technology.
All parties, Akpabio and his wife and Natasha and her husband, would agree and appoint a panel of three certified polygraph lie detector test machine experts.
They come with their polygraph lie detector test machines to a neutral location in Abuja, for example, the eagle square.
And under the live coverage and streaming of national television and media organisations with international observers accredited by INEC, we test the sexual harassment allegations!!!
Meanwhile… Suspension is Insufficient Punishment for Natasha: The Senate Needs To Invite Hisbah to Seize All Her Pancake and Transparent Outfits and Other Forms of Penalties.
It appears that both the Senate President (Godswill Obot Akpabio-GOA) and Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB) are convinced that the punishment of six months suspension is not sufficient punishment for Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan!!!
Even after the suspension was imposed on 6th March 2025, both GOA and MOB have come out to issue Press Statements.
One would have thought that both men who allege that they are sticklers for strict adherence to the Standing Rules of the Senate, should have allowed the Spokesman of the Senate to handle such press statements.
This would have been the logical thing considering that Senator Natasha was alleged to have insulted the Senate as an institution.
However, the fact that these press statements were PERSONALLY issued by both GOA and MOB confirms our suspicions that the said suspension was more of a personal vendetta!!!
In his personal statement, GOA is quoted as saying as follows:
“Have you ever wondered the trauma caused by that same woman on the other people she has accused in the past. None has been proven so far.
“ Do you even wonder the trauma this caused to the 10th Senate and the image of the Senate with all these useless allegations? I have refrained myself from making a statement.”
GOA repeatedly used the word “trauma”.
Cambridge Dictionary defines the word “trauma” “as severe and lasting emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely upsetting experience or a case of such shock happening:
the trauma of marriage breakdown.
He had psychotherapy to help him deal with his childhood traumas”
So this means that the punishment of suspension of Senator Natasha is not sufficient to treat the “trauma” that she has inflicted upon the 109 members of the Senate.
The Senate as an institution needs to hire a psychotherapist or a team of psychotherapists to attend to each of the 109 Senators that have been traumatised by Senator Natasha’s allegations!!!
And the professional fees to be paid to such psychotherapists must be deducted from the salaries and allowances of Senator Natasha. That is the only way to teach her a lesson that she should never again traumatise her colleagues.
Then regarding the issue of her “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits”, the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions ought to invite Hisbah Police, which is the morality police that is prevalent within Northern Nigeria. Afterall, Abuja, where Senator Natasha is currently resident is located within Northern Nigeria. Let them visit her place of residence and seize all those her “pancakes” and her “transparent outfits”!!!
So that by the time that she resumes after her suspension in six months time, she will no longer trouble any of her colleagues with her pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits!!!
Then there is the issue of sending Senator Natasha to attend compulsory induction orientation training course at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) Abuja. The Senate ought to direct Senator Natasha to attend this course during this period of her suspension.
In addition, she must be made to undertake a study visit to the Parliament of South Africa and other Parliaments to observe how parliamentary decorum and manner of speaking is maintained. This should be done at her own costs.
On the day that she is to resume at the Senate, Senate Natasha should be made to recite to the hearing of all her 109 colleagues the Standing Orders of the Senate, 2023 (especially the portion about seating arrangements) as evidence that she now understands the said Rules!!!
These are some additional steps because the suspension alone is not sufficient penalty for Senator Natasha!!!
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
Executive Director,
Nigerian Law Society (NLS).
