By The NewsMata
Rising in defence of the three other female Senators in the Red Chamber over their alleged silence in the Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan-Senate President, Godswill Akpabio face-off over seating arrangement, Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Friday explained that it was to avoid saying anything negative about one of their own because it was about following the rules of the Senate.
Kingibe, a member of the Labour Party and chairman of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, said they would not want to be seen to be fighting over “inanities”.
Newsmata.com.ng recalls that Akpoti-Uduaghan went into an outburst over the change in her seating position and perceived attempt by the senate president to shut her up from expressing her views on the matter, thereby causing tension in the chambers.
Akpabio had insisted that she would not be recognised to speak until she had moved to her newly assigned seat which she resisted.
She then went into a rage, venting her frustrations, including being denied some of her privileges. Her case was subsequently referred to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for disciplinary review.
The drama became messier on Friday February 28, 2025 when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan appeared on Arise TV Morning Show where she accused Akpabio of making sexual advances at her, citing two instances. She said the seating arrangement row was the last straw that broke the camel’s back in the ploy to frustrate her legislative duties.
But speaking on Arise News ‘Morning Show’ to clarify Natasha’s allegation of lack of support from her female colleagues, Kingibe 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.”
Senator Kingibe argued that Natasha was not the only lawmaker whose seat was moved, noting that other lawmakers were affected by the seating reassignment.
According to her, “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”.
She was however quick to admit that the Senate had not been gender-friendly, though it had been improving.
Senator Kingibe said, “The truth of the matter is, yes, the Senate is not gender friendly, but it has been improving much better than when we first entered the Senate, I must say. And the truth of the matter is, when we make a fuss and draw the attention of the Senate President, he corrects it. Truly, the Senate can do better than it’s doing, but there’s hardly anything that’s been done to us that’s not done to other men.”
Kingibe therefore gave a word of advise to women: “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.”