By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Federal Government has decided to wade into the disagreement between the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan which has resulted in the suspension of the latter in the legislature.
This is as the Minister of Women Affairs , Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, on Friday, said it is negotiating with the leadership of the National Assembly to broker peace over Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
“We’re engaging all the stakeholders to ensure that they temper justice with mercy,” Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, told State House correspondents during a Meet-the-Press Programme at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Her comments come barely 24 hours after the 10th Senate suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months.
The lawmaker had submitted a petition alleging she had been sexually harassed by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan first raised the alarm on February 28.
However, the Senate dismissed her petition on procedural grounds as the ethics committee recommended her suspension, saying she had brought ridicule to the upper chamber.
Reacting to the developments, the Women Affairs Minister said, “It’s an unfortunate incident that should not happen. In the last assembly, we had nine senators that were women.
“We don’t want to be losing any woman member in the Senate or decrease in the numbers.
“We’re going to be brokering peace. We’ll engage all the stakeholders to ensure that they temper justice with mercy.”
Suleiman-Ibrahim said she is emboldened by the Senate President’s openness to talk.
“I was at the National Assembly yesterday, at the Senate where we marked the International Women’s Day.
“The last thing the Senate president said was that ‘we’re open to broker peace.’
“So we’re going to be the intermediary between the two parties to see that we broker peace; for peace to reign, and then we’ll continue to sensitise everyone a o that we learn to work better together as women and men,” she said.
