By Abiola Olawale
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District of Kogi State at the Senate, has ignited a firestorm of controversy with a bombshell accusation against the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
During an interview on Arise TV’s “The Morning Show,” Natasha alleged that Akpabio had been punishing her within the Senate due to her refusal to acquiesce to his alleged sexual advances.
This claim has further thrust the ongoing tensions between the two lawmakers into the national spotlight.
During the interview, Natasha traced the origins of her fraught relationship with Akpabio back to December 8, 2023, a day before their shared birthday.
She recounted an incident during an official visit to Akpabio’s home in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he allegedly made inappropriate overtures.
According to Natasha, Akpabio took her hand and offered to show her around his residence while her husband trailed behind.
She explained that it was in a private sitting room where Akpabio reportedly asked if she liked his house, adding, “Now that you are a senator, I’m going to create time for us to come and spend quality moments here—you will enjoy it.”
Natasha noted that her husband’s presence during this exchange left her uncertain about whether he had overheard the remark, but she claimed Akpabio quickly shifted the conversation to showing her his chapel.
This encounter, she asserted, marked the beginning of a pattern of alleged harassment that escalated into professional retaliation within the Senate.
Natasha likened her experience to “a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him.”
The lawmaker also cited other instances where she claimed Akpabio deliberately thwarted her efforts, particularly regarding a motion on the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
She claimed that despite its importance, Akpabio repeatedly stepped down her motion.
She said: “My issue with Akpabio started on the 8th of December, 2023, when myself and my husband visited Akwa Ibom for Senator Akpabio’s birthday. Akpabio was showing me around his house and was holding my hands with my husband following behind us when he said, he wants me to come and be spending special moments in his house. My husband heard him and later told me not to travel abroad alone or be with the Senate President alone.
“In February, I wanted to move a motion for the investigation on the ills of the corrupt practice in a Ajaokuta steel company. I listed that motion five times. It was the sixth time that it was listed on the order paper that was approved. Many senators can testify to that.
“Before the motion made the order paper, I went to the Senate President in his office, and I said, Senate President,’ you know how important this Ajaokuta Steel Company is to me, you know how important it is to my people and Nigerians. I’ve noticed that you have stepped down this motion. As a matter of fact, several senators told me to see him and plead with him so that he would take it. I was like, ‘Sir, please, why can’t you take this motion? It’s very important Then, it was listed the third time and stepped down.
“He then said, ‘Natasha, I’m the Chief presiding officer of the Senate, you can enjoy a whole lot if you take care of me. Make me happy. At that point, I said, ‘Sir, I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear this’. He said, ‘Well, the ball is in your court’. I left his office
“My case is a case of a student being punished by a lecturer for refusing to sleep with him.”
The allegations come against a backdrop of heated friction between Natasha and Akpabio. On February 20, 2025, a dramatic confrontation unfolded during a Senate plenary session over a seating rearrangement prompted by defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Natasha resisted the reassignment of her seat, leading to a heated exchange with Akpabio.
She accused Akpabio of silencing her voice and denying her opportunities to contribute to debates, claims that fueled her referral to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for disciplinary review.
This incident also spurred Natasha to file an N100.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Akpabio on February 25, 2025, citing statements allegedly published by his aide that she argued disparaged her dignity.
