…Says court should be allowed to handle sexual harassment allegation
Ignatius Okorocha, Abuja
The Senate on Thursday passed a vote of confidence on its President, Senator Godswill Akpabio even as it recognized the concern of the public on the happenings in the senate and called for their understanding.
This is coming on the heels of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan appearance at the summit of the International Parliamentary Union, IPU in New York alleging persecution over her sexual harassment allegation against the President of Nigeria Senate.
The leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele coming under point of order called the attention of the Senate to how the controversy over suspension of senator Natasha has been a distraction to the work of the senate.
He noted the concern of the public on the matter and craved their understanding of the Rules of the Senate and the processes of making laws in the national Assembly.
“Up until the day that we announced on this floor that we were referring a petition brought by Senator, Yemi Adaramodu, with respect to Senator Natasha’s flagrant disobedience to the rules and regulations of this Senate and was referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, none of us was ever told about any sexual harassment.
“Secondly, I want to make it clear to the public that the issue before us as of the time we refer this matter to the ethics and privileges committee had nothing to do with sexual harassment and to some of the critics who have said this Senate allowed senator Godswill Akpabio to be a judge in his own case and to decide over his own matter needs to be told with all due responsibility and respect that the matter before us and on which Senator Akpabio presided over as the President of the Senate had to do with the motion that was referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petition.
While we appreciate the concern of the public on this matter, I just want to emphasize that it is important that we also seek the understanding of the general public that we were elected to serve the people and whatever we do in this chamber, we are guided by rules and these rules are also drawn pursuant to the Constitution of our country.
It is not a rule of men, it is a rule of law. It is not about some men trying to gang up against a woman or anybody, it is about ensuring that our rules are respected. That is the only way we can guarantee peace, law and order.
Bamidele also pointed out that some of the critics have also said the senate has no right to suspend a member of the Senate saying “it is very clear on our rules as to how far we can go and we are not of the opinion that we are in breach of either the Constitution or any of our rules.”
“Section 60 of the Nigerian Constitution confers on this Parliament the constitutional rights to regulate its own procedure. And Section 1, Subsection B of our rules rule also makes it clear by reiterating that constitutional authority granted to us by Section 60 of our rule of the Constitution, giving us the right to regulate our procedure.
Suspension, as far as we are concerned, is the only authority to the kind of anarchy that the nation witnessed in the past, where members of parliament had reasons to shout, to get physically engaged with each other, to engage in acts of violence, to tear each other’s clothes, and, you know, do all kinds of things.
“Thank God that we are moving away from that now. It also shows that democracy is growing, nascent as it might appear to be and if there are people who have issues with whether or not we can even suspend an erring legislator who has refused, or who is refusing to work within the rules like I said, it’s for the court to continue to adjudicate,” he said.
Responding to the vote of confidence by his colleagues in his absence, the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio thanked them for reposing confidence in him and the leadership of the Senate twice within the last 2 weeks.
He regretted that the embattled Senator Natasha has dragged the reputation of the country to disrepute before the international community by distorting the facts that led to her suspension by the Nigerian Senate.
Akpabio gave kudos to Hon Cafilat Ogbala for presenting the true picture of what happened in the Senate that led to Natasha’s suspension at her Press conference at the United Nations.
