Kingibe faults Natasha over clash with Akpabio, reveals alleged planned hotel meeting

Ireti Kingibe, senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has said that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator for Kogi Central, has received more privileges than other female lawmakers in the national assembly.

Kingibe made these remarks during an interview with Arise TV on Friday, addressing the recent clash between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Akpoti-Uduaghan over seat reassignment in the chamber.

On February 20, tensions flared during plenary when Akpoti-Uduaghan objected to her seat being relocated, leading to a heated exchange with Akpabio. The Kogi lawmaker later alleged that her challenges in the senate started after she turned down inappropriate advances from the senate president.

READ ALSO : My trouble in Senate started after I declined Akpabio’s s3xual advances -Natasha

Addressing the controversy, Kingibe said Akpoti-Uduaghan had not followed senate protocols and noted that seat changes affect multiple lawmakers, not just her.

“Silence is golden, especially when one of us is not following the rules. And as women, we did not want to come out publicly to say anything negative about her; and we were hoping all of this will blow over, as a lot of things do,” Kingibe said.

“The senate is not a place where we are supposed to fight over trivialities like seating arrangements. This is about the rules of the senate. So if I can point out that other women have been moved several times. On that day, I wasn’t there, but I gathered that several men were also moved.”

Kingibe acknowledged the challenges female lawmakers face but said the situation is gradually improving.

“And the truth of the matter is, when we make a fuss and draw the attention of the senate president, he corrects it,” she said.“Truly, the senate can do better than it’s doing, but there’s hardly anything that’s been done to us that’s not done to other men.”

“The truth is, senator Natasha has gotten the most privileges among all four of us (female senators). The seat I sit on now has been moved four times.

“I want women to know we have to follow the rules of the institution we chose to enter, and that is mostly the point of this visit here.”

On the allegations of sexual harassment, Kingibe said she is not that close to Akpabio to discuss the subject.

“I collected some documents for senator Natasha, informed her and went to her house. She told me that she was supposed to discuss something with Akpabio but he said to meet him at a hotel,” Kingibe added.