{"id":154101,"date":"2025-03-05T23:57:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T22:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced"},"modified":"2025-03-10T23:37:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T22:37:57","slug":"akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced","title":{"rendered":"Akpabio must step down for unbiased sexual harassment probe \u2013 CHRICED"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called on Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to temporarily step down from his position to allow for an impartial investigation into allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan.<\/p>\n<p>This was contained in a statement jointly signed by CHRICED officials, Victor Emejuiwe, Furera Isiaka, and Falilat Adamu on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>CHRICED emphasized the need for transparency and accountability, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct security agencies to conduct a thorough and unbiased probe into the allegations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe strongly urge Senator Godswill Akpabio to consider stepping down as Senate President to allow for an impartial investigation. This is not just about him. it is about upholding the integrity of the legislature and ensuring that women in politics can speak up without fear of intimidation,\u201d said Victor Emejuiwe, CHRICED\u2019s Program Manager.<\/p>\n<p>The organization expressed concern over what it described as a pattern of behavior involving Akpabio, recalling similar allegations made against him in the past, including those by a former head of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during his tenure as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout accountability at the highest levels of leadership, we risk normalizing a culture of impunity that silences women and discourages them from participating in governance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The advocacy group commended Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan for her courage in speaking out, stating that her boldness serves as an inspiration to women facing similar challenges in male-dominated political spaces.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recognize the bravery of Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan in coming forward. Women in politics should not have to endure harassment in silence. This case must set a precedent that no one is above the law,\u201d said Furera Isiaka, CHRICED\u2019s Communications Officer.<\/p>\n<p>CHRICED also renewed calls for stronger gender-inclusive policies, urging the Tinubu administration to reintroduce the five gender bills previously rejected by the Ninth Senate and implement the 35% affirmative action for women in leadership.<\/p>\n<p>The group further demanded the enforcement of workplace protections against sexual harassment, warning that failure to act decisively would erode public trust in Nigeria\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a defining moment for Nigeria\u2019s democracy. If the government is serious about gender equity and justice, it must take swift action,\u201d CHRICED stated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called on Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to temporarily step down from his position to allow for an impartial investigation into allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan. This was contained in a statement jointly signed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":154100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[621,16140,15877,254],"class_list":["post-154101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-akpabio","tag-akpabio-vs-natasha","tag-chriced","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Akpabio must step down for unbiased sexual harassment probe \u2013 CHRICED - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called on Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpa ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Akpabio must step down for unbiased sexual harassment probe \u2013 CHRICED\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called on Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpa ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-05T22:57:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-10T22:37:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1741206552.435246.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"559\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Akpabio must step down for unbiased sexual harassment probe \u2013 CHRICED\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-05T22:57:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-10T22:37:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced\"},\"wordCount\":397,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1741206552.435246.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Akpabio\",\"Akpabio vs Natasha\",\"CHRICED\",\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/akpabio-must-step-down-for-unbiased-sexual-harassment-probe-chriced\",\"name\":\"Akpabio must step down for unbiased sexual harassment probe \u2013 CHRICED - 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