Despite the ongoing turmoil within the Red Chamber, the Nigerian Senate reaffirmed its support for Senate President Godswill Akpabio by passing a vote of confidence in him.
In order to address concerns about the upper legislative body, Senate Leader Senator Opeyemi Bamidele reportedly moved to invoke Orders 40 and 51, which led to this decision.
She responded by calling her suspension unfair and taking the issue to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) of the UN on Tuesday.
In a statement to the IPU on Wednesday, the Senate formally refuted her charges, claiming that her suspension was a disciplinary measure for serious misconduct and a violation of Senate regulations rather than being connected to her accusations.
While acknowledging the increased public interest in the issue during the Senate session, Bamidele was adamant that no formal sexual harassment charges had ever been brought before the Senate.
He made it clear that Senator Natasha’s disciplinary actions were only for violating legislative procedure.
“I want to make it clear that sexual harassment had nothing to do with the matter referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges,” he said. No case involving such charges was presided over by the Senate President. We adhered to the Constitution’s due process guidelines and addressed a blatant disregard for Senate rules.
He also supported the Senate’s right to keep its chambers disciplined and orderly, stressing that suspension is still a legal means of averting chaos.
The senator rejected arguments that the Senate had overreached its constitutional authority, reaffirming the need of internal disciplinary measures in maintaining the integrity of the legislative branch.
We maintain that there was never a problem with any of our members experiencing sexual harassment. We must focus and move past the events of the past two weeks. We have done everything we could to ensure that the election changes and other measures have statutory expressions, but there is still more to be done,” Bamidele continued.
Speaking to the international reaction, Bamidele explained that the IPU had operated within its own parameters and that Senator Natasha’s remarks at the IPU meeting were her own personal opinions rather than those of Nigeria’s delegation.
“Before us, sexual harassment of any senator was never a problem,” he stated. We must put the past two weeks behind us and concentrate on our legislative duties. We have important tasks ahead of us, such as tax reform legislation, economic recovery, and election reforms.
The 1999 Constitution’s seventh schedule is unambiguous, and we all took an oath promising to enact legislation that would benefit the nation. We took an oath and made sure that everyone followed it.
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Bamidele also spoke to civil society organizations, advising them to concentrate their efforts on real-life instances of sexual harassment and to be impartial in their analysis.
“You have been heard, but we must focus on our task. Therefore, please know that we intend to remain mute on this issue moving forward. Please analyze the situation objectively and spare your energy for those actual victims of sexual harassment.
The Senate concluded by formally restating its support for Akpabio’s leadership and praising the way the matter was handled.
Senator Barau Jibrin, the deputy president of the Senate, who chaired Thursday’s meeting, stressed the need of the legislature concentrating on its primary duties, such as monitoring once the budget was passed. He reminded the Senate that the issue was now before the courts and should be handled by them.
