Suspended Natasha has reported her case against Akpabio to the UN Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Glamtush reports that suspended Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central, has taken her battle against Senate President Godswill Akpabio to the international stage.
This news platform understands that speaking at the Women in Parliament session during the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting at the United Nations in New York, which started trending on Tuesday, she called for justice and intervention from global democratic institutions.
Natasha described her suspension from the Senate as unlawful, warning that powerful figures in Nigeria might attempt to detain her for speaking out.
The lawmaker is asking for justice over what she described as injustice meted out to her. Senator Natasha described her suspension from the Senate as “illegal.”
“I was suspended illegally because I submitted a petition for sexual harassment against the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio. I thought that by submitting the petition, he would recuse himself and both of us would submit ourselves to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petition for a fair, transparent investigation. But unfortunately, I was silenced and I was suspended,” she told the gathering.
“That means I’m here illegally, but I have no other place to go but to come here and speak to you because this is a bigger picture. This is a bigger picture. It depicts the crisis of women’s political representation. My suspension is not just about me. It’s about the systemic exclusion of women from political leadership in Nigeria,” the Kogi lawmaker added.
After her speech, she expressed worry about her security. The Kogi Central lawmaker claimed there are indications that she may be held against her will in New York for speaking up on the issue at the global event by “the powers that be” from Nigeria.
Glamtush recalls that her suspension followed a heated confrontation with Akpabio over a new Senate seating arrangement, which she claimed was designed to undermine her. Akpabio refused to recognise her during plenary because she was not speaking from the newly assigned seat.
Tensions escalated when Natasha accused Akpabio on national television of punishing her for rejecting his alleged sexual advances. She later submitted a petition detailing claims of sexual harassment by the Senate President.
