Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu has stated the Senate’s position on sexual harassment, stating that any confirmed case will be addressed through the Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petition Committee after a formal complaint and any senator found guilty will “face the music.”
His remarks came during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday while discussing the allegations by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan has claimed that Akpabio made inappropriate advances towards her during a visit to his residence in Akwa Ibom. The incident allegedly occurred in December, a day before both senators’ birthdays.
Addressing how such allegations are handled, Adaramodu stressed that due process must be followed before any investigation is initiated. “If there is any situation like that and it is confirmed that there is any situation like that, the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition Committee will be revved up to take it up. Then if it is found that it is true, then that senator for that matter, whoever, will face the music,” he stated.
He dismissed the notion that public allegations automatically warrant Senate action. According to Adaramodu, a formal complaint must be made by a fellow senator before the Senate as a whole decides whether the matter should be referred to the Ethics Committee for investigation.
He said, “In the Senate, we don’t conduct our affairs from what we pick up from Facebook or in the media and we just rush to the chamber and we start conducting our affairs on that. We don’t do that one. There must be an explicit, straightforward complaint from any senator about any misdemeanour. The senator will raise it and will drop it and then the senate as a whole will now decide that this is necessary, this is worth it, to go to the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition Committee. That is what is done.”
The allegations against Akpabio have drawn significant attention, but it remains to be seen whether a formal complaint will be filed, triggering an official Senate investigation.
