Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Finally, the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Udaughan, has satirically apologised to the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, over the controversial sexual harassment allegation she levelled against him.
The suspended Senator in the said letter of apology further mocked Akpabio over the controversy, emphasizing how she had ‘mistakenly’ valued competence and dignity over mediocrity and favouritism.
Recall that Natasha was suspended on March 6 following a heated argument with the Senate President over a new seating arrangement, which she alleged was designed to punish her.
Natasha later accused Akpabio of persecuting her for rejecting his purported sexual advances.
She escalated the matter to the global stage when she reported Akpabio at the Women in Parliament session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting at the United Nations in New York.
At the IPU, Senator Natasha, urged the global body to hold the Nigerian Senate accountable.
Senator Natasha who made her mockery apology public on Sunday, further poetically dramatized her plight.
The letter obtained by Ikengaonline read: “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 recognise 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.”
She had after the six month suspension was slammed on her further raised an alarm that Senator Akpabio, the immediate-past; and the incumbent Governor of Kogi State were planning to harm her, an allegation the trio had all flatly denied.
