Former Presidential Adviser and Senator, Florence Ita-Giwa, has dismissed Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claim of sexual harassment, arguing that women who attain the Senate cannot be harassed.
Akpoti-Uduaghan recently alleged on live television that Senate President Godswill Akpabio frustrated her attempts to raise motions on the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State because she refused to sleep with him. However, responding to the allegation on Arise TV on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Ita-Giwa insisted that such claims should not come from women in the Senate.
“By the time you contest elections and get to the Senate, you have passed that stage of your life of being sexually harassed. You go there to serve, and you are all equal in that place. And again, it shows weakness; you don’t allow it. It (sexual harassment) cannot happen in the Senate,” Ita-Giwa stated.
While clarifying that she was not calling Akpoti-Uduaghan a liar, Ita-Giwa emphasized that female senators should not see themselves as victims. “I am not saying the lady is lying, but when you get to the Senate, you’re there as a person. You’re not there as a woman. At that stage in politics, if you come out and say someone is sexually harassing you, it is a weakness,” she added.
When asked if female lawmakers should remain silent about harassment from male colleagues, Ita-Giwa firmly maintained that such accusations display weakness. “On this matter, I am not with Senator Akpoti. It is the worst sign of weakness on a woman’s part to come out and accuse a man of making passes at you at that level,” she said.
She concluded by stressing that women in the Senate should see themselves as equal to their male counterparts, noting that securing a senatorial seat is a difficult achievement.
