Senate Seat Row: Akwa Ibom Group Backs Senate President Akpabio, Knocks Natasha 

FRIDAY February 28, 2025 |TheNewsDESK
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A group, Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District Diaspora Professionals, has condemned the attacks on the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over his face-off with Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan at the plenary, ThePUNCH reports.

This followed the recent disagreement between Akpabio and the female Kogi lawmaker last week over the relocation of her seat.
The Kogi lawmaker had protested the relocation of her seat.

In a statement by its Chairman, Moffat Ekoriko, the group faulted media attacks on the Senate president, maintaining that Akpabio acted within the rules as the presiding officer on the day of the incident.

The group also disagreed with the former minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, for implying that the Senate President had an issue with female legislators.

The statement partly read, “We also view with disdain the comments of Oby Ezekwesili who implied that the Senate President has an issue with female legislators. We dare tell her that Senator Akpabio is a high priest of women empowerment, and the facts speak to this.

“During his tenure as the governor of Akwa Ibom State, he introduced and enforced a rule that women must account for one-third of elected and appointed public officers.

“In any local government council that a man was the chairman (appointed or elected), he made sure that a woman was the vice chairman. Some of the councils had women as council chairmen. This is definitely not the antecedent of a man who has issues with women.”

The group, in the statement, urged the attackers to desist from blackmailing the Senate President.

It read, “It smacks of mischief for people to use a matter, for which the Senate President acted according to the rules, to launch personal attacks on him. We wonder what the actors of this script want to achieve.”

The group expressed its confidence in Akpabio’s leadership of the Senate, adding that the Akwa Ibom-born legislator had built a synergy with the executive arm of government to advance the country’s development.

According to the group, Akpabio has done a brilliant job of it, saying, “We call on those attacking the Senate President to desist forthwith and allow the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to do its job.

“Senator Akpabio is an accomplished public servant who deserves to be respected. We take exception to any disrespect of his person or office. We stand by Akpabio.”