The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions has said that the ‘sexual harassment’ petition by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio is dead on arrival.
The committee stated this on Wednesday, claiming it did not follow the guidelines provided in Order 40, Subsection 4 of the Senate rule book.
According to the committee, the rule book stipulates that no senator may present a petition signed by himself or herself.
DAILY POST reported that the Kogi Central senator on Tuesday tendered a sexual harassment petition against Akpabio.
The petition was submitted on the floor of the upper legislative chamber after the Senate resumed plenary.
The female lawmaker also accused Akpabio of abuse of office and malicious obstruction of her legislative functions.
However, the committee said it would not entertain Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition because it was signed by her, contrary to the Senate rule book.
“The petition that she presented today is dead on arrival. And I said that contrary to Order 40, Subsection 4, which says that no senator may present a petition signed by himself or herself. And that petition, having been signed by her, won’t be entertained by this committee.
“She’s not here… I understand why she’s not here, maybe on the order of her lawyers. That being the case, the committee will sit and deliberate on what we have gotten from distinguished senators who have presented their cases before us, and from the Sergeant-at-Arms, and based on our rule book and other documents that are available to us. We will make our decision from here and make our referral to the full Senate,” the committee claimed.