BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
I have watched with trepidation in recent times what is going on in the Nigerian senate between the senate president (Godswill Akpabio) and another senator from Kogi State (Natasha Akpoti). I refrain from making judgments, but I would advise that justice be served. A step-by-step process should be followed and all the events and claims looked at.
There is a sexual harassment claim, there was a disobedience to the rule of law as regards the sitting arrangement, there was a senator who was debarred in the USA sitting as a chairman on ethics in the senate and he is a serving senator, there is a suspension on Natasha which the court has said you cannot give more than two weeks. Therefore, the Nigerian public has been denied legislation and governance since the senate is fighting an internal war about themselves. The federal government presented a budget of 54 trillion which is not a topic of discussion. MTN and DSTV have orchestrated a ground plan to suck the blood of the common citizens in the name of subscription prices, but the senate is busy discussing Natasha and Akpabio. Natasha, Akpabio, and Natasha’s husband (Emmanuel) were good friends according to Natasha. And I saw in the News that Natasha took a selfie with Akpabio smiling from eye to eye or ear to ear.
If the national cake they were sharing at the expense of Nigerian people has become a problem to them, how does that concern the ordinary man in the street? If there was a serious issue in the senate that required public opprobrium, we shall know that by the time Natasha and Akpabio finish this naked dance in public. It is good that the wind shall blow so that the two hidden things will be made public. The first one will expose the back side of the chicken, and we can see all the dirty games going on in the Senate. The second one will expose the long pants (trousers) of the priests. This will help us to know the good senators who will stand for the truth not minding whose horse is gored. I heard Natasha is pretty and I heard that Akpabio is rich. Those two adjectives always lead to misappropriation and maladministration.
In the line of order: Natasha came to work in the senate as every other senator and she stood up to speak when the senate president gave her the floor but before she could make her point, another senator interjected and informed the senate president that Natasha had not moved to her new seat. It was only then that the senate president stopped Natasha and told her to move to her newly allocated seat. Natasha refused and cited order 10 from the senate rule book that a senator has the privilege to speak at any time when there is an urgent matter. This is what we saw on national television and what everyone said transpired on the senate floor.
I wonder why the senator who reminded the senate president about Natasha’s assigned seat spoke up. Like I said, this piece is not to judge anyone. When Natasha tried to speak from her old seat, the senate president vehemently refused, and Natasha became emotional and angry. Although, the Clark of the senate said that he informed Natasha about the change of seat when she arrived at the hallowed chamber Natasha said, “Over her dead body will she move to her new seat.” On that day Natasha did not go to her new seat but walked out of the senate. Akpabio (the senate president) and some senators gathered to discuss how to discipline Natasha. I was still asleep when my brother called me and requested that I should tune in to ARISE NEWS. I got up and switched on my television and my ears could not believe my eyes. It was in the interview with ARISE NEWS that Natasha leveled the weighty allegation of sexual harassment on her by the senate president two years ago in his new house. Natasha was very angry in her tone. The following day Natasha went to the senate, now sitting in her allocated seat, and submitted a petition to the senate about the sexual harassment of her by the senate president. The senators rejected the petition because the petition was signed by Natasha herself, and according to the senate no one should sign a petition he/she would submit by herself. The following day Natasha resubmitted the petition but on that same day the Senate Committee on Ethics submitted their report on Natasha and a month’s suspension was handed down to Natasha with a lot of other punishments (Obuzikwa onye nwulu nu ka ana akwa bikonu?).
The Senate has the power to suspend any senator who disobeys the Senate rules and guidelines. But the Nigerian court has said that the senators cannot suspend a fellow senator for more than two weeks (fourteen days). So why did the senate committee recommend six months? ‘Are they not informed too,’ according to the former first lady of Nigeria (Dame Goodluck). The speed with which the committee dealt with Natasha’s issue shows that if the committee in the senate wants to help the masses to carry out good legislative work, it is very possible.
On the other hand, since Natasha has submitted her petition on sexual harassment to the senate, I think it a noble thing to look into it and not make the insensitive statement that “it is dead on arrival.” Who knows who it will be tomorrow? When PDP was opening the windows of corruption and making all the noise they did not know that a day like this would come when a party like APC would take over and start opening the doors.
The petition by Natasha should be investigated and a proper report and investigation carried out. Finally, Akpabio should stop sponsoring women to demonstrate on his behalf and Natasha should stop running around the world in the quest to attract sympathy. If you destroy your house because of a rat chase, you will also stay without shelter until the building is completed. The senators who did not sign the ethics committee report should tell us where they stand because this is a serious issue of national importance. The Natasha and Akpabio imbroglio should be relegated to the back seat so that governance and healthy legislative discussion would start once again in the national assembly.
