Lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory in the Senate, Senator Ireti Kingibe, on Friday berated her colleague, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over her outburst against the sitting rearrangement in the upper chamber.
Kingibe, who appeared on Arise TV yesterday, carpeted the Kogi senator for repeatedly failing to abide by the Senate rules.
She said the other female senators had been quiet on the row provoked by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s reaction to the sitting rearrangement only because they don’t want to say something negative about one of them.
She said: “Silence is golden, especially when one of us is not following the rules.As women, we did not want to come out publicly to say anything negative about her, and we were hoping all of this would blow over as a lot of things do”.
“The Senate is not a place where we are supposed to fight over trivialities like sitting arrangements. This is about the rules of the Senate. So, if I can point out that other women have been moved several times on that day. I wasn’t there, but I gathered that several men were also moved.”
“The truth is, senator Natasha has gotten the most privileges among all four of us (female senators). The seat I sit on now has been moved four times. I want women to know we have to follow the rules of the institution we chose to enter, and that is mostly the point of this visit here.”
On the allegations of sexual harassment, Kingibe said she is not that close to Akpabio to discuss the subject.
“I collected some documents for senator Natasha, informed her and went to her house. She told me that she was supposed to discuss something with Akpabio but he said to meet him at a hotel,” Kingibe added.
