On Friday, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, refuted a claim made by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator from Kogi Central, that he had hired former Governor Yahaya Bello to kill her, calling it “false and malicious.”
Eseme Eyiboh, Akpabio’s media assistant, provided the clarification in a statement released in Abuja.
Akpoti-Uduaghan made the allegation while addressing her supporters on Wednesday in Kogi.
The embattled senator reported that the Senate President sought the help of Bello to ‘assassinate her in Kogi State rather than in Abuja,’ a claim the state government has since debunked.
In response on Friday, Akpabio stated that her accusation included not a shred of truth and that it was part of a deliberate smear attempt to paint him as a bad leader in the eyes of the public.
He said, “This outrageous accusation is not only false but a complete fabrication and deeply irresponsible and dangerous attempt to provoke public unrest, attract media attention, and discredit the person and office of the President of the Senate for ulterior motives.
“It is important to remind the public that this same individual had previously made an unsubstantiated accusation of sexual harassment against me —a claim she seems to have abandoned without explanation. Having failed to gain traction with that narrative, she has now escalated her campaign of misinformation to a defamatory dimension.
“It is a matter of public record that she has previously made assassination allegations against Yahya Bello and others in 2019 and 2023, along with multiple unsubstantiated claims of sexual harassment against other dignitaries. Her recurring persecution narrative and evident lying complex should not be weaponised to malign individuals or destroy hard-earned reputations.”
Elisha Abbo, the former legislator for the Adamawa North Senatorial District, was also chastised by Akpabio, who reiterated that he had nothing to do with his removal from the National Assembly as alleged.
Abbo was sacked by a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on October 16, 2023.
But the former lawmaker, who featured on a live programme on Arise Television on Wednesday, blamed Akpabio for his predicament.
The politician equally accused the Senate President of running the Red Chamber like an emperor.
The Senate President said he suspected both claims, coming almost at the same time, must have been a deliberate and coordinated campaign of calumny against his personality.
He, therefore, sought apologies and retractions from both individuals to avoid seeking legal redress.
“Nigerians will recall that Abbo, in 2023, publicly retracted this same accusation and tendered an apology after acknowledging that his claims were founded on incorrect assumptions. His removal from office was the outcome of a constitutionally grounded judicial decision by the Court of Appeal, which independently determined that he was not duly elected to represent Adamawa North.
“The timing, tone, and striking similarity of these coordinated attacks point clearly to a politically motivated smear campaign. These individuals backed by undisclosed interests appear united in a desperate effort to undermine the credibility of the Senate and its leadership and intended to distract from their own personal and political shortcomings and failings.
“Senator Godswill Akpabio remains undeterred. Regardless of the necessity for legal redress, formal letters of demand, seeking immediate public retractions, apologies, and compensation for reputational harm, are underway to be served on both Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Mr Elisha Abbo,” the statement added.
