{"id":154928,"date":"2025-03-11T13:42:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T12:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio"},"modified":"2025-03-25T19:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:22:50","slug":"natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio","title":{"rendered":"Natasha: Saraki under fire over comments against Akpabio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>A group, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District Professionals has tackled the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki over claims that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was \u201cmaking deliberate attempt to politicise and trivialise the serious concerns Nigerians have expressed about due process in the Senate\u201d.<\/p>\n

Saraki was said to have made the statement following the sexual harassment allegations against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio by the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.<\/p>\n

He called for open, transparent and honest investigation of the allegation by the Senate.<\/p>\n

However, the group in a statement signed by its National President, Edidiong John and the National Secretary, Kemfon Neke, and made available to our correspondent in Uyo, claimed that Saraki\u2019s comments suggest legislative overreach aimed at taunting the Senate and creating confusion.<\/p>\n

The group explained that the matter which Saraki was referring to is already before the court and subjudice as both Akpabio\u2019s wife, Unoma and Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan have taken the matter to court.<\/p>\n

While urging Saraki to respect the legal process currently in motion and refrain from statements that may inadvertently pressure or prejudice the Senate\u2019s orderly handling of the issue; the group noted that the pendency of a case in the judicial system renders any parallel investigation by the Senate improper and beyond its authority at this stage.<\/p>\n

The group stressed that Saraki, as a former presiding officer of the Senate, ought to be fully aware of Senate\u2019s limited options in the face of an ongoing court case, adding that Akpabio is not a member of the judiciary and cannot usurp its role in adjudicating the matter.<\/p>\n

Parts of the statement read, \u201cDr. Saraki, with his extensive experience as a former Senate President, is or ought to be conversant with the Senate\u2019s Standing Orders, particularly those prohibiting the consideration of matters pending before the courts. The pendency of this case in the judicial system renders any parallel investigation by the Senate improper and beyond its authority at this stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a matter of politicization or trivialization, as Dr. Saraki suggests, but a straightforward application of legal and parliamentary norms.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, it is noteworthy that the allegations in question, which Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan claims date back to December 8, 2023, were not promptly reported to the police despite constituting a potential criminal offense nor submitted to the Senate\u2019s Ethics and Public Petitions Committee for immediate redress, as provided under the Senate\u2019s rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, the senator chose to first air her grievances on a television program, bypassing established remedial options available under Nigerian law and Senate procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sequence of events raises questions about the intent behind her approach, which Mrs Akpabio has interpreted as defamatory, prompting her to seek judicial recourse. The court is now the appropriate forum to test the senator\u2019s claims, and it is there that she must substantiate her assertions, as the law in Nigeria remains clear: he or she who alleges must prove.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should also be noted that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has indeed submitted a petition to the Senate regarding this matter. That petition has been referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions, chaired by Senator Neda Imasuen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is this committee that will determine, in the first instance, whether the Senate retains jurisdiction to address the issue, given the sub judice nature of the allegations. This process is already underway, and any further agitation outside this framework risks undermining the Senate\u2019s own procedures.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. A group, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District Professionals has tackled the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki over claims that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was \u201cmaking deliberate attempt to politicise and trivialise the serious concerns Nigerians have expressed about due process in the Senate\u201d. Saraki was said to have made the statement following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":154927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[621,11955,254,103],"class_list":["post-154928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-akpabio","tag-natasha","tag-nigeria","tag-saraki"],"yoast_head":"\nNatasha: Saraki under fire over comments against Akpabio - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A group, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District Professionals has tackled the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki over cl ...\" \/>\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\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Natasha: Saraki under fire over comments against Akpabio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A group, Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District Professionals has tackled the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki over cl ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-11T12:42:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-25T18:22:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1741688014.952473.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"716\" \/>\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=\"3 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\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Natasha: Saraki under fire over comments against Akpabio\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-11T12:42:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-25T18:22:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio\"},\"wordCount\":597,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/03\/sm_1741688014.952473.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Akpabio\",\"Natasha\",\"Nigeria\",\"Saraki\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/policy\/natasha-saraki-under-fire-over-comments-against-akpabio\",\"name\":\"Natasha: Saraki under fire over comments against Akpabio - 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