“Ekong Condemns Senate for Suspending Natasha Akpoti: ‘Institutions Shield Power, Not People'”
The suspension of Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been denounced by Dayo Ekong, the Lagos State Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), as a stark instance of institutional persecution.
Ekong denounced the ruling as a “grotesque perversion of justice,” contending that the Senate decided to silence Akpoti-Uduaghan rather than look into her claims of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
She cautioned that the action reveals a culture that suppresses the voices of victims, especially women, in favor of defending those in positions of authority.
According to reports, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months after accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment. Ekong saw this as a clear act of tyranny.
Following her rejection of Akpabio, Akpoti-Uduaghan had accused him of making unwanted sexual approaches and depriving her of certain privileges.
She formally brought her grievances before the Senate Ethics Committee, which rejected her petition and suspended her rather than investigating her charges.
In a statement, Ekong voiced her shock at the condition of affairs and emphasized that it creates a risky precedent to silence a female senator for speaking out against harassment.
As the chairman of the Lagos State Labour Party, she expressed her anger and sadness at the egregious injustice taking place in our National Assembly. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who bravely accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, was suspended for six months—not because her claims were being looked into, but because she dared to make them.
She chastised the Senate Ethics Committee for punishing the senator for allegedly bringing the chamber into contempt while dismissing the petition on procedural grounds.
The Ethics Committee penalized her for “ridiculing” the Senate after rejecting her plea on procedural grounds. The LP Chair declared, “This is a horrible perversion of justice, not justice itself.
Ekong also criticized the suspension’s wider ramifications, claiming that regular Nigerian women who experience harassment at work and in their daily lives have an even lower chance of being heard if a sitting female senator can be silenced in this way.
What does it mean for regular Nigerian women if a sitting senator—one of just four female members in a Senate of 109—can be silenced, suspended, and expelled from office for demanding accountability? The student being bullied by lecturers, the market vendor being harassed by police, and the domestic worker being mistreated without a way to protest?
She did not hold back in condemning the institutional hurdles that protect the powerful while leaving victims vulnerable.
The Senate’s actions reveal the terrifying reality that our institutions defend power rather than individuals. They have revealed the systematic misogyny that silences women and gives predators more confidence by marginalizing Senator Uduaghan.
Ekong also criticized those who backed the suspension, threatening to hold them to a high standard in the eyes of history.
“We see your complicity, members who voted for this suspension. History will not overlook the decision to use process as a weapon against advancement, even when we acknowledge the demands of fear and allegiance.
She contended that cutting the number of women in the Senate from four to three is an assault on democracy and gender equality in addition to being a political ploy.
“In a country where women face daily humiliations, cutting the number of female senators from four to three is not only hypocritical, it is an attack on democracy itself.”
Ekong stated that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension is representative of the larger fight women confront against oppression and reiterated her party’s steadfast support for her and her fight for justice.
“The Labour Party Lagos State state working committee, including myself, firmly supports Senator Uduaghan and her commitment to carrying out her ‘pursuit for justice.'” Her suspension is a representation of the oppression that all women endure when they are gaslighted into silence, and it goes beyond simple politics.
She called for accountability and openness in the processing of such situations and urged Nigerians to rise up against this injustice.
We advise the people to demand better. We advise institutions to conduct transparent investigations. To those in authority, we say: your legacy will be defined by whether you maintain equity or perpetuate injustice.”
Ekong urged all Nigerians to oppose a system that shields offenders while penalizing victims, restating the Labour Party’s denunciation of the suspension.
The Lagos State Labour Party denounces this flagrant disrespect for gender equality and responsibility. We urge all Nigerians to oppose a system that shields the powerful while punishing the unfortunate. We all need to speak out against this injustice. “We need to establish a system that ensures no woman, be it a student or a senator, is silenced ever again,” she said.
