Sexual Harassment Allegation: Women Affairs Minister moves to resolve Natasha’s suspension

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Welfare Hajia Imaan Suleiman has expressed deep regret over the sexual harassment claims in the Senate, describing the situation as “unfortunate” and emphasizing that such events must never occur in the National Assembly.

The Minister has promised to meet with the Senate immediately to work towards a peaceful resolution. She warned that it would be a loss for women if any female senator were to be removed from the chamber, stressing that Nigeria needs to work harder to increase the number of women in governance and ensure they have a voice at the decision-making table.

Her comments come after Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for breaking Senate rules, following her accusation that Senate President Godswill Akpabio sexually harassed her. This suspension has reduced the number of female senators to only three out of 109.

Speaking during a press briefing on the eve of International Women’s Day at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Suleiman said, “It’s an unfortunate incident that should not happen. In the last assembly, we had nine senators, all women; in this assembly, we have four (Senators). We don’t want to lose any members in the Senate or House of Assembly.”

She added, “We want to increase the numbers. It is unfortunate; we’re going to be brokering peace. We will engage all the stakeholders to ensure that they temper justice with mercy. I was at the National Assembly yesterday at the Senate, where they marked International Women’s Day, and the last thing the President of the Senate said was that ‘we’re open to broker peace.’”

The Minister continued, “So, we are going to be intermediaries between the two parties to see that we broker peace, and we will continue to sensitize so that we will like to work better together as women and men. It is not a good thing to lose more women in the National Assembly at a time when we are already grossly underrepresented.”