Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has described Senate President Godswill Akpabio as a corrupt and terrible woman abuser amid sexual harassment allegation levelled against Mr Akpabio by senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.


Mr Abubakar, a leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, made the assertions during an interview on Arise TV. The interview was published on Wednesday.


Asked if he was surprised by the hurried ratification of President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation of state of emergency in Rivers State by Mr Akpabio-led Senate, Mr Abubakar said he was not surprised because he knew Mr Akpabio to be a corrupt politician.


He said, “I was not surprised because the leadership is corrupt. I have no apologies about that. They could do anything. The Senate president is known to have had those kinds of character when he was a governor. I got the reports quiet along.’’

Asked if he got a report that Mr Akpabio was corrupt, Mr Abubakar doubled down on his statement, saying: “He was corrupt. Not only was he corrupt, he was in the habit of abusing women. I got that report before.”


Mr Abubakar’s statement trailed sexual harassment allegations levelled against Mr Akpabio by Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Mr Akpabio has repeatedly denied harassing Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, dismissing her allegations as baseless.

Contacted for his comments on Wednesday, spokesperson for Mr Akpabio, Aniete Ekong said that he would need to get his principal’s thought on Mr Abubakar’s claim before commenting.

Suspended for six months over what the leadership termed her disobedience to Senate rules, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted that her suspension was an attempt to silence her.