Saraki Slams Akpabio for Politicizing Senate’s Due Process, Insists on Transparent Probe

By Emmanuel Kwada

Former Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki has sharply criticized incumbent Senate President Godswill Akpabio for what he calls “cheap politics” and an attempt to “trivialize a serious issue” following Akpabio’s claim that demands for a transparent investigation into allegations against him are a regional plot to oust a Niger Delta leader.

Saraki’s rebuttal comes in response to Akpabio’s remarks on Friday, where he suggested that individuals from Kwara and Adamawa States are targeting him due to his South-South origins.

In a strongly worded statement issued by Yusuph Olaniyonu, head of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office in Abuja, Saraki clarified that his earlier comments on March 1, 2025, never called for Akpabio’s resignation. Instead, he urged the Senate President to safeguard the legislature’s credibility by ensuring an open and unbiased investigation into allegations leveled against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Cheap politics and an attempt to trivialize a serious issue

The accusations, which include suggestions of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and abuse of office, have sparked a public controversy threatening the Senate’s reputation.

“Dr. Saraki’s intervention was not about Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan or the veracity of her claims,” the statement read. “It was about protecting the image of the Senate as an institution by ensuring that such serious allegations against its presiding officer are addressed through a transparent process rooted in the Constitution, Senate rules, and established precedents.”

It was about protecting the image of the Senate as an institution

Saraki accused Akpabio of misrepresenting his stance by framing it as a regional or partisan attack.

“It is disingenuous and crude to describe Dr. Saraki’s comment along primordial lines,” the statement continued, dismissing Akpabio’s insinuation that the critique stemmed from political rivalry between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Saraki’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), or from regional tensions between the North Central and South-South zones.

The former Senate President emphasized that his call for due process transcends personal or political affiliations.

“This issue is not one in which Akpabio should exploit ethnic sentiments, political division, or regional proclivity,” Saraki warned.

“It will neither be in his own interest nor that of the institution over which he presides.”

Highlighting the broader implications, Saraki stressed that allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination resonate deeply with the struggles of women across Nigeria.

An honest and public investigation is essential to dispel perceptions of a cover-up

“When such a sensitive matter is raised in the legislative institution, it is an opportunity to handle it with utmost openness and transparency to ensure justice is not only done but seen to be done,” he argued.

Saraki reiterated his original advice to Akpabio and the Senate leadership: an honest and public investigation is essential to dispel perceptions of a cover-up and to restore confidence in the National Assembly.

“The general public and the international community will have more trust in our legislative institution if this is done,” he added.

The statement concluded with a resolute defense of Saraki’s legacy and commitment to the legislature’s integrity.

“People like Dr. Saraki have made huge sacrifices in defending the institution and will not desist from speaking up for the right thing to be done. May God bless our institutions and our country.”

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