The camp of Senate President Godswill Akpabio has dismissed the authority of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to compel him to appear before its panel over the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the National Assembly.
Akpabio’s media aide, Eseme Eyiboh, made this known in an exclusive interview with Reporters on Wednesday.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is serving a six-month suspension, had accused Akpabio of sexual harassment and abuse of power.
On Tuesday, she went before the IPU, a United Nations agency, to lodge a complaint against the Nigerian Senate and the Senate President, Akpabio.
After listening to her case, the IPU stated that it would have to hear from Akpabio in order to take a position on the matter.
“The IPU, through its President Tulia Ackson, assured that it would take necessary steps after hearing both sides of the issue. Ackson acknowledged Akpoti-Uduaghan’s concerns but stressed the need for procedural fairness by hearing Akpabio’s side as well,” a Wednesday statement by the agency read.
However, in an interview with Reporters on Wednesday, Akpabio’s aide, Eyiboh, insisted that the Senate President was under no obligation to honour any invitation from the IPU, arguing that the matter was an internal parliamentary issue.
“They don’t have the authority to do that. It is an internal affair of the National Assembly. Akpabio can’t be forced to honour an IPU invitation. That is one. Secondly, what she is doing is contemptuous since she was said to have obtained a court order,” he said.
“That means she has no regard for the rule of law. And beyond being contemptuous, what she is trying to do is to dent the image of Nigeria, which is worrisome. Again, the IPU cannot meddle into the parliament and internal affairs of a sovereign state like Nigeria. It will be very embarrassing.
“But as I said, she has taken a step to show contempt for the court she went to. Has anybody asked her why she left the court to start heading to the IPU? Anyway, we wouldn’t want to comment too much on that issue because it is sub judice.”
When asked if Akpoti-Uduaghan would face further sanctions for her actions, Eyiboh declined to speculate.
“I cannot predict that,” he said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, was suspended on March 6 following a confrontation with the Senate President over a new seating arrangement, which she claimed was designed to undermine her.
The matter escalated when she, during an appearance on national television, accused Akpabio of politically victimising her for rejecting his alleged sexual advances.
Speaking at the Women in Parliament session during the IPU meeting at the United Nations in New York, Akpoti-Uduaghan called for international intervention to hold the Nigerian Senate accountable.
She further lamented the withdrawal of her security, salary cuts, and a six-month ban from the National Assembly.
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