By Ayomide Otitoju
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central in the National Assembly, has dared Senate President Godswill Akpabio to proceed with legal action over allegations she made accusing him of plotting her assassination.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired Thursday night, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker revealed that she had received information suggesting Akpabio intends to take legal action against her.
“I am hearing that the Senate President wants to sue me for that. I will tell him to go ahead. We will meet and cross that bridge,” she said.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier this week accused Akpabio of orchestrating a plot to recall and assassinate her. She made the claims on Tuesday during a rally in Ihima, Kogi Central, where she addressed her constituents.
According to her, Akpabio initially approached Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo to spearhead a recall process against her, but Ododo allegedly declined, stating it would be impossible due to her popularity among the people. Dissatisfied with the response, Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed, Akpabio then turned to former Governor Yahaya Bello, tasking him with both her recall and assassination and allegedly promising to finance the operation.
“But Akpabio was not satisfied; he then called for Yahaya Bello. It was Senator Asuquo who drove Yahaya Bello to the Hiltons. I was informed,” she said. “The meeting was in two folds: he told him to commence my recall — he was going to fund it. Of course, money changed hands that day. The second thing was that he should kill me.”
She further alleged that Akpabio instructed Bello to ensure that the act was not carried out in Abuja, but rather in Kogi, “so it would seem like the people killed me.”
Though she admitted the matter had not been made public earlier, Akpoti-Uduaghan said a formal report was submitted to the police.
When pressed to provide evidence supporting her claims, the senator pointed to the recently attempted recall process. “If you are doubting the veracity of the killing, what about the recall that we just experienced? Let us get to that bridge,” she said.
The Senate President is yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
