Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, has downplayed the ongoing feud between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Adaramodu stressed that recent events at the Red Chamber could be seen as the lawmakers simply enjoying themselves, adding that Natasha may just be catching a cruise.
The Senate spokesperson made this known while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
Natasha, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, recently accused Akpabio, a former Akwa Ibom State Governor, of making sexual advances at her on several occasions, which she rejected.
She claimed that her refusal to accept sexual advances from the Senate President is responsible for her recent issues in the House.
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This came after she made headlines last week for engaging in a shouting match with Akpabio over the seating arrangement.
After discovering that her seat had been moved, the Kogi lawmaker raised her voice in frustration, sparking a brief disruption in legislative proceedings.
Consequently, she was referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, led by Senator Neda Imaseun, for disciplinary review.
However, events took a new turn on Wednesday when Akpoti-Uduaghan submitted a petition against Akpabio to the House.
After initial arguments by some of her colleagues, including Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Tahir Monguno and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who questioned the petition's validity, the Senate President referred the matter to the concerned committee.
Interestingly, the Committee swiftly dismissed the petition, declaring it “dead on arrival,” citing procedural violation of Order 40 of the Senate Standing Orders and legal constraints.
The Committee Chairman, Imaseun, who announced the dismissal, explained that Akpoti-Uduaghan had signed the petition herself rather than having it endorsed by another individual, making it procedurally invalid.
Addressing the development on Politics Today, Senator Adaramodu said the entire event at the Senate was just "content creation, and then when there is content creation, the media will feast on it.
“That is what is happening in any climate, even outside Nigeria; there have always been, maybe, little uproar, here and there, little bro-ha-ha, up, here, and there.
“So some people, like our younger generation, will say they are catching their cruise. I see this one as that. Maybe our own senator sister is just catching her own cruise.”
Clarifying the seating arrangement saga, the Senate spokesperson explained that a Senator cannot raise a point of order if they are not in order themselves.
He said, “Until you are properly seated, according to Order 6-2, Order 6-B of our standard rules, that you cannot make a contribution. Either it is on privileges, it is on rights, or it is on anything. You cannot make any contribution. So, she was prevented from making a contribution.
“And then when you are prevented from making a contribution, she is still shouting. It was the prerogative. It is there in our order that the presiding officer can order you out. But instead of the presiding officer ordering her out, other senators prevailed. The presiding officer, who is the Senate President, should not do that.
“So she was given the opportunity to even sit down on the wrong seat throughout the meeting of that day. So after that, like I said, you cannot ask for a point of order when you are not in order.”
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On whether the saga has dented the Senate’s corporate image, Senator Adaramodu insisted that the Senate’s image remains intact and assured that the matter would be resolved peacefully.
“The image of the Senate is intact; it’s just a mere hoax, it’s just content creation, I tell you, we will resolve it,” he stated.