BREAKING: Our Institutions Protect Power, Not People

The Lagos State Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Dayo Ekong, has condemned the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, calling it a glaring example of institutional oppression.......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>

Ekong decried the decision as a “grotesque perversion of justice,” arguing that instead of investigating Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Senate chose to silence her.

She warned that the move exposes a culture that prioritizes protecting those in power while suppressing the voices of victims, particularly women.

Naija News reports that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months following her allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, a decision Ekong sees as a blatant act of oppression.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had accused Akpabio of making unwanted sexual advances towards her and denying her certain privileges after she rejected him.

She formally took her complaints to the Senate Ethics Committee, which, instead of addressing her claims, dismissed her petition and proceeded to suspend her.

Ekong, in a statement, expressed dismay over the situation, emphasizing that silencing a female senator for speaking up against harassment sets a dangerous precedent.

She said, “As Chairman of the Lagos State Labour Party, I speak with a mix of outrage and sorrow at the grievous injustice unfolding in our National Assembly. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a voice courageously alleging sexual harassment by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has been suspended for six months—not for her accusations to be investigated, but for daring to speak them.”

She criticized the Senate Ethics Committee’s decision to dismiss the petition on procedural grounds while punishing the senator for supposedly bringing the chamber into disrepute.

“The Ethics Committee dismissed her petition on procedural technicalities, then punished her for ‘ridiculing’ the Senate. This is not justice; it is a grotesque perversion of it,” the LP Chair asserted.

Ekong further decried the larger implications of the suspension, arguing that if a sitting female senator could be silenced in such a manner, ordinary Nigerian women facing harassment in their workplaces and daily lives stand even less chance of being heard.

“If a sitting senator—one of only four women in a chamber of 109—can be silenced, suspended, and barred from her office for seeking accountability, what does this mean for ordinary Nigerian women? The market trader harassed by police, the student preyed upon by lecturers, the domestic worker abused with no platform to scream?”

She did not hold back in criticizing the systemic barriers that protect the powerful while leaving victims vulnerable.

“The Senate’s actions scream a chilling truth: our institutions protect power, not people. By sidelining Senator Uduaghan, they have exposed the systemic misogyny that silences women and emboldens predators.”

Ekong also called out those who supported the suspension, warning that history will judge them harshly.

“To the members who voted for this suspension: we see your complicity. We recognize the pressures of loyalty and fear, but history will not forgive the choice to weaponize procedure against progress.”

Reducing female representation in the Senate from four to three, she argued, is not just a political maneuver but an attack on democracy and gender equality.

“Reducing female representation from four to three senators in a nation where women endure daily indignities is not just hypocrisy—it is an assault on democracy itself.”

Ekong reaffirmed her party’s unwavering support for Akpoti-Uduaghan and her fight for justice, declaring that her suspension is symbolic of the broader struggle women face against oppression.

“Myself and the entire state working committee of the Labour Party Lagos State, stand unwaveringly with Senator Uduaghan and her vow to continue her ‘pursuit for justice.’ Her suspension is not merely political; it is a symbol of the oppression faced by every woman gaslit into silence.”

She urged Nigerians to take a stand against this injustice, calling for accountability and transparency in handling such matters.

“To the public, we say: demand better. To institutions, we say: investigate transparently. To those in power, we say: your legacy will be defined by whether you uphold equity or entrench injustice.”

Ekong concluded by reiterating the Labour Party’s condemnation of the suspension, calling on all Nigerians to reject a system that protects perpetrators while punishing victims.

“The Labour Party Lagos State condemns this blatant disregard for accountability and gender equality. We call on all Nigerians to reject a system that punishes the victim and protects the powerful. We must all lend our voices to this injustice. We must create a system, one where no woman, whether senator or student, is silenced again,” she concluded.