Eseme Eyiboh, spokesperson for Senate President Godswill Akpabio, on Sunday said the Senate cannot investigate Mr Akpabio over sexual harassment allegations by Kogi Central lawmaker, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, because there is no official petition to the Senate on the matter.  

In an interview with TVC on Sunday, Mr Eyiboh dismissed calls by former Senate President Bukola Saraki for Mr Akpabio to step down for a transparent investigation into Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sexual harassment allegations.  

Mr Saraki had cited the example of how he stepped down and subjected himself to investigation when he was accused of importing cars without paying customs duties.  

“What Bukola Saraki said has no place for contemplation at this level,” Mr Eyiboh said. “There is no petition, either to the police, court, or Senate regarding sexual harassment. It is just somebody exercising the right to public communication, that is freedom of expression.”  

Mr Eyiboh added, “She went to a public television platform. Another person could have gone to Wuse Market to lay an allegation. And you are asking the institution to investigate?”  

Mr Eyiboh said the matter involving the former Senate president, which he used as the basis to call for an investigation, is different from what Mr Akpabio is accused of.  

“It is a different thing that happened to Senator Saraki during his time on the car issue. In this case, there is no petition anywhere. There is no petition on sexual harassment,” Mr Eyiboh said.  

“So from where will the Senate, as an institution, set up a panel? Who is the complainant? There is no complainant. What he (referring to Saraki) is saying has no place in the conversation.”  

Earlier on Friday, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, in an interview with Arise TV, accused Mr Akpabio of sexually harassing her and frustrating her attempts to move a motion in the House.  

This marks the first official response to Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations from Mr Akpabio’s office. Though the Senate president has remained silent on the allegations, his wife, Ekaette Akpabio, has dismissed Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims against her husband as false and a figment of wild imagination.