A socio-political group, Rescue Nigeria Economy Project (RNEP) has berated the silence of major northern senators over the alleged sexual advancement claims leveled against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Senator Natasha Akpoti- Uduaghan was last week suspended for six months for violation of the Senate’s rules days after she submitted a petition against Akpabio for sexual assault and other accusations.
Natasha Suspended For Disorderly Conduct, Not Sexual Allegations – Senate
On Tuesday, Natasha, who described her suspension as an injustice that cannot stand took her case to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Meeting at the United Nations in New York.
Reacting to the issue, RNEP, in a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Dennis Alamu-George on Tuesday said the silence of northern senators such as Ali Ndume, Abdul Ningi and Abdulaziz Yari are worrisome as they appeared cowed into silence.
The group said the current senate is a far cry from the 1999 set in the Evan Enwerem and Chuba Okadigbo era as “they would have demanded that Akpabio step down for a thorough investigation or launch an impeachment move against him for bringing the Senate into disrepute”.
“ We are perplexed at the silence of vocal northern senators like Ndume, Yari and Ningi. Could it be that they are afraid of the presidency, especially given what happened to Ndume and Ningi who spoke out in the past? Could it be they are making their moves underground and they don’t want to bring attention to themselves so that President Tinubu who is heavily backing the Senate President won’t see them coming?”.
“Whatever it is, their silence is not golden at this moment at all. The current issue in the senate has been reported globally and it is not doing the already battered image of Nigeria any good” the group said.
In a related development, the Arewa Youth Assembly For Good Leadership (AYAGL) has called on President Bola Tinubu to call Akpabio to order over his antagonistic actions against northern senators.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, the speaker of the AYAGL, Ambassador Abdul Danbature reiterated that, “going by what has happened under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio, we believe Akpabio is fighting the North directly or indirectly. Our reasons for this belief are not farfetched. The perfunctory suspension of distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti recently has reinforced our beliefs that Akpabio is fighting the North”.
The youth group queried’ “What has Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduanghan done to warrant her suspension from legislative duties for 6 months, what has she done to warrant her change of seat? What has she done to warrant her removal as Senate Committee Chairman on Local Content and above all, what has Northern women done for continued harassment?
“What has Northern Nigeria done against Senator Akpabio to stop a motion moved by Senator Natasha on the NLNG gas pipeline project to Northern Nigeria? A lot of questions are begging for answers, and we hope Senator Akpabio will provide answers.
“Northern Nigeria deserves more than what it is getting from Akpabio as Senate President. Without the overwhelming support of our Senators from the North, Akpabio wouldn’t be sitting as Senate President today. He must stop the victimisation of Senators from the North. He must stop his selective justice. He should realise that power, position and influence are ephemeral.
“Since Godswill Akpabio’s emergence as the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, there has been one drama after another, and as discerning Northern Nigerian youth, we are gradually coming to the conclusion that Akpabio has an axe to grind with some section of the country, especially the North.
“As Youth who constitute the bulk of the population of Northern Nigeria, we have unanimously resolved to lend our voice in condemnation of the mistreatment and maltreatment Northern Nigeria Senators have been subjected to under the leadership of Akpabio.
We have endured and tolerated Akpabio beyond limit and now it is time to speak out. We have realised our Senators from the North are afraid to call a spade a spade because of fear of witch hunting and suspension from the Senate,” he said.
