Ireti Kingibe Backs Akpabio, Slams Senator Natasha Over Outburst On Seating Arrangement

Lawmaker representing Federal Capital Territory in the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, has backed Senate President Godswill Akpabio, over his ongoing rift with a Lawmaker from Kogi State, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Ireti berated the Natasha over her recent outburst on the seating reassignment in the upper chamber.

INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that the Kogi federal lawmaker sparked controversy when Senator Akpabio, reallocated her seat.

Her reaction to the seating arrangement sparked drama in the Senate during plenary, as the lawmaker refused to move to the new seat assigned to her.

Natasha later raised her hand to speak but was denied recognition because she was not speaking from the seat assigned her.

Angered by this, the Kogi lawmaker raised her voice in protest, accusing Akpabio of denying her privilege.

Subsequently, the Senate unanimously voted to refer her to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for disciplinary review.

Speaking over the Senate’s action, Natasha, during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, accused Akpabio of sexual harassment, alleging that the Senate President had, on two occasions, made sexual advances at her.

The Kogi lawmaker also claimed that the seating arrangement was part of a ploy to frustrate legislative her duties.

READ MORE: Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Escapes Death After Auto Crash

Reacting to Natasha’s claim about the seating arrangement, Kingibe, while appearing on Arise TV on Friday, said that she doesn’t follow the Senate rules.

She added that three other female senators have been silent about the seating arrangement row because they don’t want to say anything negative about Natasha.

Senator Ireti said: “Silence is golden, especially when one of us is not following the rules, and as women, we did not want to come out publicly to say anything negative about her, and we were hoping all of this will blow over, as a lot of things do.

“The Senate is not a place where we are supposed to fight over trivialities like seating 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.

“I want women to know we have to follow the rules of the institution we choose to enter, and that is mostly the point of this visit here.”