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Natasha Writes Cryptic Apology to Akpabio
The suspended Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central), has tendered a sarcastic and satirical apology to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, reigniting discussions about gender dynamics and power struggles within Nigeria’s legislative chambers.
In a letter dripping with biting irony, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan offered what could be described as a profuse “apology” for the “grievous crime” of maintaining dignity and self-respect in the Senate President’s presence.
Mockingly, she referenced expectations of compliance, writing: “How remiss of me not to understand that my refusal to indulge your… ‘requests’ was not merely a personal choice but a constitutional violation of certain men’s entitlement.”
Addressing systemic sexism, she continued: “Please find it in your magnanimous heart — somewhere buried deep beneath layers of entitlement — to forgive this stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections.”
The letter read in part: “Dear Distinguished Senate President Godswill Akpabio,
It is with the deepest sarcasm and utmost theatrical regret that I tender this apology for the grievous crime of possessing dignity and self-respect in your most exalted presence. I have reflected extensively on my unforgivable failure to recognize that legislative success in certain quarters is apparently not earned through merit, but through the ancient art of compliance — of the very personal kind.
How remiss of me not to understand that my refusal to indulge your… ‘requests’ was not merely a personal choice but a constitutional violation of the unwritten laws of certain men’s entitlement. Truly, I must apologize for prioritizing competence over capitulation, vision over vanity, and the people’s mandate over private dinners behind closed doors.
I now realize the catastrophic consequences of my actions: legislation delayed, tempers flared, and the tragic bruising of egos so large they require their own postcodes. For this disruption to the natural order of ‘quid pro quo,’ I bow my head in fictional shame.
Please find it in your magnanimous heart — somewhere buried deep beneath layers of entitlement — to forgive this stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections.
I remain,
Yours in eternal resistance,
Senator Natasha H. Akpoti-Uduaghan
Unafraid, Unbought, and Unbroken.”
The tense relationship between Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Akpabio first surfaced publicly in July 2024 when, during a plenary session, Akpabio rebuked her attempt to speak without official recognition, remarking, “We are not in a nightclub.” The comment was widely condemned as sexist, sparking public outrage and demands for an apology.
Though Akpabio later issued a statement claiming no harm was intended and affirming his respect for women, tensions deepened. In February 2025, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan formally accused him of sexual harassment, citing inappropriate comments and advances. Her petition to Senate leadership was dismissed on procedural grounds.
The Senate later suspended her for six months over unrelated conduct, a move many Nigerians perceived as retaliatory and an attempt to silence her. The suspension triggered nationwide protests under the slogan “We are all Natasha,” with women’s rights groups and activists rallying in her defense and denouncing systemic gender-based discrimination in Nigerian politics.
While groups like the Kogi Patriotic Consultative Assembly urged her to apologize and move on, many Nigerians hailed her defiant stance, celebrating her as a symbol of resistance against entrenched biases.
For his part, Akpabio has denied all allegations, describing Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims as “baseless” and “malicious,” and has threatened legal action for defamation and character assassination.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
