Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Sunday, tendered a blistering, satirical apology to Senate President Godswill Akpabio over the sexual harassment allegations she previously levelled against him.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s letter, dripping with sarcasm, was released to the press in Abuja just as Akpabio travelled to Rome to attend the funeral of the late Pope Francis. Thewatch.ng reports that the senator was suspended on March 6 after a heated clash with the Senate leadership regarding a new seating arrangement, which she alleged was orchestrated to sideline her.
The dispute intensified when Akpoti-Uduaghan, during a national television appearance, accused Akpabio of retaliating against her for rejecting his alleged sexual advances. Taking the matter to the international stage, she called for global intervention at the Women in Parliament session during the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting at the United Nations in New York. There, she condemned the punitive measures taken against her, including the withdrawal of her security detail, salary cuts, and a six-month suspension from the National Assembly.
Amid mounting legal battles, a court barred both parties from making public comments pending the outcome of the case.
Nevertheless, on Sunday, just two days after Akpabio led a federal government delegation to the Vatican, Akpoti-Uduaghan issued a public letter mocking the Senate President under the guise of an apology.
The letter read in part:
“Dear Distinguished Senate President Godswill Akpabio, it is with the deepest sarcasm and utmost theatrical regret that I tender this apology for the grievous crime of possessing dignity and self-respect in your most exalted presence.”
She continued:
“I have reflected extensively on my unforgivable failure to recognise that legislative success in certain quarters is apparently not earned through merit, but through the ancient art of compliance — of the very personal kind.”
Delivering some of her sharpest blows, Akpoti-Uduaghan added:
“I now realize the catastrophic consequences of my actions: legislation delayed, tempers flared, and the tragic bruising of egos so large they require their own postcodes.”
In one of the most searing lines, she wrote:
“Please find it in your magnanimous heart — somewhere buried deep beneath layers of entitlement — to forgive this stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections.”
The senator signed off defiantly:
“Unafraid, Unbought, and Unbroken.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s “apology” has once again thrust the bitter confrontation between her and Akpabio into the spotlight, as Nigerians await the legal resolution of their feud.
