Nigerian Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, unequivocally stated during a senate plenary on Thursday that he never had any intentions of stepping down from his position as leader of the national assembly.
This declaration came in response to a vote of confidence passed by Senate majority leader, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele.
Bamidele praised Akpabio and expressed his disbelief that there were any expectations for Akpabio to relinquish his role over allegations of sexual harassment.
He thanked his fellow lawmakers for supporting Akpabio and emphasized the importance of evidence when facing accusations.
He said, “By now I’m sure you know, sir, that those who felt that by now, this Senate would have asked you to step down would have seen now that we are focused on what we are doing, and whatever the level of allegation against anyone of us, we will always ask for evidence, and we will do what is in overriding public interest. I just want to thank you, and I thank all our colleagues.”
In response, Akpabio said, “To answer you, you said, ‘those who would have asked you to step down’, who told you I was going to step down due to false allegations?
“If you watch the record in America, there are black people because of their skin, who went to prison…some 25 years for false allegations. So, I’m not one of those people.
“They will step down for false allegation and when it’s proven that the allegations are false, they say, ‘Oh, we were unfair to Akpabio.’ So, if you have that in mind, please cancel it.”
Additionally, a female lawmaker currently on suspension for violating Senate rules recently issued a sarcastic apology to Akpabio on social media.
