Ogunlewe Condemns Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Suspension, Says Her Beauty is the Problem

•Faults process leading to her sanction 

•Court hears Kogi senator’s suit March 25

•HURIWA seeks committee chair’s resignation over alleged disbarment in US

Emmanuel Addeh and Alex Enumah in Abuja

Former Minister of Works and erstwhile senator, Adeseye Ogunlewe, yesterday, flayed the senate for hastily suspending Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over her recent disagreement with the senate leadership.

Ogunlewe claimed the female lawmaker’s beauty was the main reason for her mounting problems in the upper chamber.

A Federal High Court in Abuja fixed hearing for March 25 in a suit filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan against her investigation by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions.

At the same time, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) called for the resignation of the chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Senator Neda Imasuen, who recommended the suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was recently locked in a public spat with Senate President Godswill Akpabio whom she accused of ill-treatment because she turned down his sexual advances.

But speaking on Arise Television, Ogunlewe maintained that being an attractive woman, male folks would naturally make passes at the female lawmaker without it necessarily meaning sexual harassment.

He stated, “The beauty of Distinguished Senator Natasha is a problem for her because when someone beautiful passes by men, their attitudes change. They can smile, but they may not talk to her. But Natasha’s beauty is a problem for her, and there’s no doubt about that.

“To men, when she is passing, there’s no way they will not look at her, but they may not talk to her. It’s a natural thing for men to look at a beautiful woman, because how can you be a man, and when a beautiful woman is passing, you close your eyes? You might tag it as anything, but it’s inborn for men to look at women when they pass by.”

But Ogunlewe kicked against her suspension, stating that the senate should have exercised more circumspection in handling the matter.

He said, “The harassment didn’t happen in the senate because she said it happened when she visited Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s home, and that’s a different matter. The committee rushed the whole process because they knew what they were doing.

“They knew that they had to consult widely because there’s a committee on judiciary and legal matters in the senate that should have looked into the matter and said the suspension was impossible.”

The senate said Akpoti-Uduaghan was not suspended because of her case with Akpabio, but for disrespecting the rules of the upper chamber, especially her reaction over seating arrangement in the senate.

Ogunlewe stated, “The committee didn’t elect Natasha, and the way the committee spoke shows ignorance and a violation of Natasha’s privilege – saying that she shouldn’t parade herself as a senator again. One does not doubt that the committee’s chairman was under the influence of the senate president.

“The suspension wasn’t done normally; it was predetermined, and they knew where they were going. They put themselves before the public as disorganised people. They should not have rushed things when they knew their biases would be exposed. They were not serious because that’s what they exhibited.”

He explained that while it was wrong for Akpoti-Uduaghan to have “embarrassed herself due to inexperience” during the faceoff with the presiding officer at plenary, the senate did not have the power to suspend a senator who was voted in by the majority.

Ogunlewe stated that female senators did not see themselves as inferior to their male counterparts but said, “When someone ‘toasts’ you, you have the right to refuse.”

The former minister, who was a member of the senate between 1999 and 2023, also said the female senator could have reported the sexual harassment issues to her husband or the leader of her political party.

He urged former senate presidents and senior lawmakers to engage Akpabio directly instead of airing grievances publicly.

“They should not sit down and criticise on the pages of newspapers. They can form their own committee and meet Akpabio, who probably is their junior. They should not put the senate in this level of disrepute,” Ogunlewe said.

Court Hears Natasha’s Suit March 25

A Federal High Court in Abuja fixed hearing for March 25 in the suit filed by the Kogi Central senator against her investigation by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, led by Senator Neda Imasuen.

The senate, last Thursday, suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for alleged disobedience to Sections 6.1 and 6.2 of the Senate Standing Orders 2023 (as amended) as well as alleged unparliamentary behaviour during plenaries and proceedings of the red chamber.

Before her suspension, Akpoti-Uduaghan had approached the court to intervene and stop her colleagues from proceeding with their planned disciplinary actions against her because of her altercation with the senate president following the re-allocation of her seat to another senator.

While the suit was pending, she also filed an ex parte application to stop the committee from taking any further action against her.

Consequently, Justice Obiora Egwuatu issued a restraining order on the senate and asked the leadership to appear before him on March 10 to show cause why the restraining order should not be made permanent.

When the matter came up yesterday, lawyers to the first, second and third defendants told the court that they had not been served with the court documents.

But Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Mr Michael Numa, SAN, informed the court that all parties had been served, and added that affidavits of service were before the court.

After going through the affidavits of service before the court, Egwatu confirmed service of all processes on all defendants.

Responding, Mr Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, who represented the senate president, prayed the court for an adjournment to enable parties harmonise all processes in the matter.

The request was supported by other lawyers, who stated that it would facilitate accelerated hearing at the next adjourned date.

In a short ruling, Egwatu adjourned the matter to March 25, and ordered that all the relevant processes should be served on parties before the adjourned date.

Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Peter Nwaebonyi, while speaking on the outcome of the proceeding, admitted that in legal proceeding service was very important.

Nwaebonyi said it was only when parties were properly served that they would be able to study the matter and respond accordingly.

HURIWA Seeks Ethics Committee Chair’s Resignation over Alleged Debarment in US

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) called for the resignation of Senator Neda Imasuen, who chaired the senate committee on ethics that recommended the suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan.

HURIWA predicated its call on the grounds that Imasuen was stripped of his bar licence in New York, United States of America, over allegations of multimillion-dollar fraud and gross misconduct, as reported in the media.

The group, in a statement, also called on the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the claim and take necessary actions.

National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, who signed the statement, pointed out that the senate owed Nigerians a clear explanation on why the leadership appointed Imasuen to such a serious committee without ascertaining his professional records.

Onwubiko stated, “If this damaging accusation of fraud made against Senator Imasuen is confirmed to be credible, it would be logically and ethically impossible for a believable reason to be adduced by the senate’s hierarchy on why someone, with ethical baggage, is saddled with the onerous function and power of enforcing ethical standards and heading a strategic panel charged with investigating public petitions.

“It is against natural law for such a serious error of judgment to have been committed by the senate president. If it is true, the senate president should tender a public apology to Nigerians.”