The former First Lady of Ekiti faces Akpabio: you can’t judge yourself in your case

The former First Lady and Ekiti activist, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, condemned the decision by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio to support the sentence of his case against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Auduaghan.

Natasha Akpoti-Auduaghan had faced Akpabio for the agreement on the places on the Senate’s floor and had also leveled the accusations of sexual harassment against him.

In a statement that marks the International Women’s Day, Mrs. Fayemi said that Akpabio should not have been sitting in court on the level level against him

He said: “In the last two weeks, we have witnessed a series of events in the Nigerian Senate, who left some of us Shell Shocking. It is common enough for the topics and battles of all types of bursting in the national assembly. It is not easy for so many representatives of their people to get along without taging mutual feathers. However, what we all have recently witnessed cannot be considered normal. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Auduaghan, representing the central senatorial district of Kogi, wanted to speak from the floor of the Senate. It was not recognized to speak because his place had been moved. He refused to proceed with his new place because he felt undermined and disrespectful. Apparently, Senator Natasha had bottled in several complaints against his colleagues, in particular the president of the Senate, the senator Godswill Akpabio. He then continued to make accusations of sexual harassment against the President of the Senate on national television.

“After dropping the bomb, there was a burst of activity. The Senator Ireti Kingbe, a senator who serves and two former senators-Senator inhabitaun Olujimi and senator Florence Ita-Giewa, were invited to share their opinions. All three senators are older friends or at least acquaintances, and I have a lot of respect for them. However, I found their extremely disappointing observations. One thing is to argue that it is important to follow the rules. I don’t think anyone will insist on breaking the rules of such an important institution, especially if they are applied in a fair and non -subjective way.

“However, it was clear that Senator Natasha felt besieged and believed that there was a score that the President of the Senate wanted to settle for her. If this were the case, then I would have expected that the three senators support a process that would allow Senator Natasha to shed light on his serious accusations of sexual harassment (beyond national television) and for the president of the Senate to defend himself transparently. With my horror, none of the senator women deemed it necessary to defend another woman. Although, according to them, Senator Natasha was missed on process and temperament issues, he still had the right to feel his fears and concerns. It is so painful that all three have lost the opportunity to see the wider picture and face constant intimidation, gaslighting and women diminished in leadership positions.

“I was shocked in hearing Senator Florence Ita-Giewa say that” if you are a senator as a woman, nobody can harass you “. On July 12, 2016, Senator Dino Melaye threatened to attack and impregnate his colleague, the senator Oltemi Tinubu on the Senate’s floor and” nothing will happen “. That incredible insult was not only directed to Senator Oloremi Tinubu. The country’s first lady, but to all Nigerian women who venture into public life in various capacity.

“In front of our eyes, in this country we live, several senior policies have been insulted and burst from other male politicians at some point. Most women in leadership positions have to deal with patriarchal probability stacked in an overwhelming way against them, so they learn the survival skills to help them preserve their energy and live to fight another day. It is an understandable strategy, but not always wise when you have the opportunity to close the ranks and take a point that will do a lot to ask for a new respect culture for women in the leadership.

“To all women who have publicly taken a position against Senator Natasha, I have news for you. You are not fighting the same battle of most male senators or men around us who have also transmitted their opinions. You are not on the same page, you are not even reading the same book. If it was only the Senator Natasha following the rules and not stop space for women in politics, the problem can be easily solved. I am sure that Senator Natasha takes time to familiarize himself with the rules and procedures of the Senate (assuming that he has not already done so) this will make his work in the Senate more productive.

“However, this is not what is at stake here. What is happening is a large -scale war for women in public life, with clear lines traced. Women need to wake up! We must fight with the powerful forces that want women to keep silent in the face of provocation and abuse, to those who have a propensity to use women against women and those who dangose ​​carrots and sticks while we dance and perform for them. We must not appreciate Senator Natasha Akpoti-Auduaghan. He doesn’t need to be appreciated or admired. Yet, justice must be respected, listened to and granted. Misoginia in high places that this case has revealed is disturbing. One of the colleagues of Senator Natasha, Senator Peter Nwebonyi, deputy chief Whip, had the audacity to go on television to argue that senator Natasha has x number of children per number of men (a statement that is not true), therefore his accusations of sexual harassment should be ignored. Truly? Coming from a place where many leaders have families directly from the famous family comedy “Fuji House of Commotion”.

“My heart broke when one of the female” rental demonstrators “said she was protesting because they don’t want” obstinate women “like Senator Natasha. His words could have seemed the rant of an illiterate, but those are the feelings of the powerful people around the Senator Natasha. He is too supposing, stubborn, uncontrollable, all the things that no woman should be. Silent, humble, they play according to the rules (as established by them) and that literally and figuratively keep their heads down.

“What happened in the Senate rooms on March 6, 2025 was a parody. The impunity and contempt were breathtaking. The president of the Senate should have demonstrated the leadership allowing someone else to receive the petition against him. You can’t court you for a case that involves you. As if this were not serious enough, there has been the haste to suspend Senator Natasha for six months, less his privileges, even when there are judicial sentences that the suspension of legislators for more than 14 days is harmful to their representative functions. This was clearly designed to humiliate, punish and diminish Senator Natasha as much as possible.

“Time and history will be the judge of all interested parties. In my opinion, it is not about Senator Natasha. These are all women who venture into leadership positions, who have to deal with hostile work environments, who must live through their private lives that are separated and who must fight to balance all their professional and personal obligations. To those who have asked the crazy question, is it the only one? Why don’t you start asking all the women of your life what they passed to get where they are.

“While we mark (I can’t find in me to celebrate) another international women’s day on March 8, we would need well how Nigerian women know what battles we want to fight and what wars they are worth winning. We all have to stand up and fight for ourselves, the war is not against a woman. ” [GWG]