Hundreds of women from Akwa Ibom State took to the streets to protest against the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Uduaghan’s allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
According to the protesters, Natasha’s allegations were an attempt to tarnish Akpabio’s reputation and undermine his authority as Senate President.
The women, who marched through the streets of Plaza in Uyo, on Saturday, carried placards and banners condemning Natasha’s allegations, which they described as “baseless” and “malicious.
The protesters also accused Natasha of trying to distract Akpabio from his duties as and undermine his efforts to promote the interests of Akwa Ibom State.
Speaking on behalf of the women, Glory Udo a woman leader from Essien Udim local government said women from Akwa Ibom would not tolerate any “disrespectful behaviour” from anyone, including Natasha, against their elders.
She disclosed that the women will not only protest, but pray to God to use a spiritual cane on her.
“We want Natasha to leave our son alone whenever she tries it again. The women will kneel and pray, and heaven will rise against her. She should stop messing up our son, who is well-trained in the ways of the Lord.
“Our son doesn’t disrespect women stop harassing our son and disrespecting him; he is so precious to us.
“We, the women of Akwa Ibom, are saying that this should be the first and last time you will be addressing our son in such a disrespectful manner.
“We are out here today to tell you, Natasha, that our son is so precious to us. In this area, we respect our men; we don’t disrespect them, so we want to tell you to stop harassing our son. Our son was trained in the ways of the Lord, and enough is enough.
“If we hear about this again, we will go down on our knees to pray against you, and God Almighty will release the cane, and that cane will flog you.
“No peace for the wicked, and for plotting evil against our son, evil will return to you because you want to bring a bad name to our son. Your plan will not work in the life of our son.”-She said.
The controversy between Natasha and Akpabio started with a heated exchange over a reshuffle that reassigned Natasha’s Senate seat. She opposed the move, which led to a public disagreement between the two.
Akpabio’s aide, Mfon Patrick, then published a post on Facebook, suggesting that Natasha thought being a lawmaker was solely about her physical appearance. The post stated that she believed it was all about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers.”
In response, Natasha filed a defamatory lawsuit against Akpabio, demanding N100 billion in general damages and N300 million to cover legal expenses.
The lawmaker in a recent interview accused Akpabio of making inappropriate advances towards her during a visit to his country home in Akwa Ibom.
Akpabio’s wife, Unoma Akpabio, has since sued Natasha for N251 billion over the allegations, which she described as “defamatory” and “malicious.”
