Natasha vs Akpabio: Female senators have passed stage of sexual harassment – Ita-Giwa
Former Presidential Adviser and senator, Florence Ita-Giwa has reacted to the sexual harassment claim made by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, stating that women in the Senate cannot be sexually harassed once they are elected.
Akpoti-Uduaghan recently accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of frustrating her efforts to raise motions concerning the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State because she allegedly refused his sexual advances.
The claim was made during a live television interview on March 4, 2025, on Arise TV.
In response, Ita-Giwa, who represented the Cross-River South Senatorial District, criticized the notion that female lawmakers could be victims of sexual harassment once they are elected.
She asserted that once a woman contests and wins a senatorial seat, she has moved beyond such experiences and is no longer vulnerable.
“By the time you contest elections and get to the Senate, you have passed that stage of your life of being sexually harassed,” Ita-Giwa said. “You go there to serve, and you are all equal in that place.”
Ita-Giwa also suggested that complaining about sexual harassment in the Senate is a sign of weakness. “It shows weakness; you don’t allow it. It (sexual harassment) cannot happen in the Senate,” she added
