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Akpabiogate: Senate erupts again! *Senator, ex-Minister in shouting match over Natasha
The Senate once again reverberated with echoes of shouting voices as another drama set in, this time between Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister Education engaged Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, Senator representing Ebonyi North, in a shouting match.
Incidentally, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senator representing Kogi Central, whose case has been on the front burner of Nigerian polity since her verbal engagement with Godswill Akpabio, set off a chain of events in the Red Chambers of the National Assembly.
Tuesday’s engagement, came as the Senate began hearing of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations of sexual harassment against Akpabio at before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, where the former Minister came as an interested party alongside Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, lawyer to the Kogi Senator, as well as Zubairu Yakubu, Chief petitioner from Kogi Central, who signed the petition on her behalf.
Trouble started when the petitioner urged the Chairman of the Committee, Neda Imasuen, to step down in the case following the ‘controversial’ manner in which he had so far handled the alleged sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio.
“How can the chairman serve as a judge in a case where he has already publicly taken a position? What is the need for us to present our case when a verdict has already been given before hearing us?” Yakubu questioned.
He further alleged that some committee members had pre-existing ties to Akpabio, which he said compromised their ability to be neutral, a remark, which seemed to have angered some lawmakers, who accused him of attempting to undermine the committee’s credibility.
Ezekwesili, who had first engaged the assembly over the propriety of being put on oath, over her appearance, came into the picture when he told Nwaebonyi to “shut your mouth,” a statement that infuriated him leading to expletives.
Nwaebonyi, who lashed out at the former Vice President of the World Bank, apparently unrestrained, went off: “You’re a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You’re an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here.”
On her part, Ezekwesili retorted that she was not “hooligan,” further escalating the altercation, which momentarily disrupted the hearing before order was restored, with Patrick Ndubueze, a Senator from Imo State, appealing for calm.
“We should stop behaving like people in the marketplace. This is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is sad to hear you (petitioner) say you don’t have confidence in the Senate. What it means is that not everybody here is trustworthy.
“Yes, we are all citizens of this country. But here, you must be recognised before you speak. That is the rule. We cannot just jump to answer questions because you are a petitioner. This is a Standing Committee,” he said
However, Imasuen adjourned the hearing indefinitely following observations that both Akpabio’s wife and Akpoti-Uduaghan have a case in court and the absence of the Kogi lawmaker to defend her allegation.
Addressing journalists after the hearing, Ezekwesili described the Senate’s approach as a gross violation of the Nigerian Constitution and legal framework.
She criticised the committee’s insistence on prioritising Senate rules over constitutional provisions, particularly in cases involving disciplinary actions and petitions.
“The Nigerian Senate keeps telling citizens they are subject to Senate rules, even when those rules violate the Constitution. This is unacceptable in a democracy. The suspension of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, was carried out without due regard for constitutional provisions.
“The Senate placed its own rules above the laws of the land. Now, with this petitioner, they have done the same thing – using procedural loopholes to avoid addressing critical issues. If a petitioner says they do not believe the Senate committee will give them a fair hearing due to clear bias, it is only just that an independent body reviews the matter.”
“This could set a dangerous precedent where internal rules override the Constitution. The Senate must respect the Constitution. Otherwise, we risk turning our democracy into a system where powerful individuals manipulate processes to silence opposition and suppress justice.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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