The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has declined to engage with the Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s assassination accusations, describing the matter as “subjudice.”
TheNewsGuru reports that the Lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate while addressing thousands of jubilant constituents in her country home in Kogi on Tuesday alleged that Akpabio contacted former Governor Yahaya Bello to start her recall and for her assassination.
She also alleged that Akpabio had also contacted Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, to start her recall process, but the Governor refused, stating that the people were with her.
She said: “Let me say this now, on the 14th of March, at 10:30 pm, mind you two days before that, that was on the 12th, Akpabio spoke to Governor Ododo to recall me. But he told him it would be impossible because the masses are with her, the people are with her.
“When Akpabio was not satisfied, he then sent for Yahaya Bello. It was actually Senator Asuquo from Cross River that drove Yahaya Bello from Hilton Hotel, I was informed of everything. When I got to know, the meeting, it was in two folds. They told him to commence my recall and that he was going to fund it. Of course, money exchanged hands that night. The second thing he told him was that he should try and kill me. I didn’t make this public, but i wrote to the IG of Police.
“And Akpabio told Yahaya Bello, I am standing by what I said, he told him that he should make sure that killing me did not happen in Abuja. That it should be done here so that it would seem as if it is the people that killed me here. I didn’t make that public, but we did notify the security agencies of that.”
Reacting the senate president through his media aide Eseme Eyiboh, said, “There is no way to comment without linking it to the Senate President, who is a party to the suit,” Eyiboh said in an interview with The PUNCH.
“That shows the level of respect she has for the rule of law herself. We cannot say anything more than that.”
The Kogi State Government in a swifty response also condemned the senator’s allegations, calling them “reckless, malicious, and utterly false.”
In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, the state described Akpoti-Uduaghan’s actions as a calculated attempt to incite unrest.
“Her statement exposed her plans to use her visit to stir trouble and violence. We will not allow any part of the state to go up in flames,” the statement read.
“She has proven once again to have no respect for law and order. She thrives on lies to manipulate public sympathy. Her actions are a security threat.”
The government also accused her of violating the curfew and rally ban, asserting that her claims were meant to distract from her suspension and pending legal issues.
“She is not a victim but an instigator of disorder,” the statement added, warning that she would be held responsible if any violence erupts in Kogi Central.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been in the spotlight since accusing Senate President Akpabio of sexual harassment.
Her petition was dismissed by the Senate Ethics Committee, which instead handed her a six-month suspension without pay on March 6.
Since then, the political crisis has deepened, with mounting tensions between her and top figures in both the legislative and executive arms of government.