The ripple effect of the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has begun to take its course as women’s groups have sent threats of the possibility of a nationwide protest.
Many human rights activists are of the opinion that the Senator’s suspension not only unveiled the factor of favoritism that the nation’s polity is characterized by, but also reveals the level of attack on gender representation and democratic values.
Consequently, more than an alarming number of 13,000 individuals have endorsed a petition demanding that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, step down from his position until an autonomous and independent investigation is fairly carried out.
In accordance with the ongoing saga, Mr. Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, the Minister of Women Affairs, has confirmed that there will be an official rendezvous where the federal government will have a discourse with notable stakeholders to seek a just, impartial, and befitting resolution to the Senate’s kerfuffle.
We recollect that the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, was suspended for six months after a majority of the Senate voted that the six-month suspension without pay, upheld by the Senate’s Ethics Committee, be implemented.
The suspension was said to have been a result of her gross misconduct and actions that lampooned the integrity of the Senate and the House, and not for her claims of sexual harassment against the Senate President. Natasha, who had tabled her petition of sexual harassment before the Senate, had it struck out on procedural grounds.
In response to Natasha’s suspension, womenโs advocacy groups, which include the Coalition for Women in Governance and Women in Management, Business, and Public Service, have vowed to protest unless Natasha’s suspension is revoked. One of the leading voices, identified as Zainab Mohammed, has demanded Natashaโs reinstatement, proposing that the Senate should be thorough in their upholding of the rule of law.
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