Senator Natasha falsely accused me of s3xual assault too – Ex-Presidential aide makes revelation
Senator Natasha falsely accused me of s3xual assault too – Ex-Presidential aide makes revelation
Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has recounted a distressing incident involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan who falsely accused him of making sexual advances towards her.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Omokri detailed how a dispute with one of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s associates led to false accusations against him.
Omokri, who was embroiled in the controversy, asserted that he was able to clear his name by presenting irrefutable evidence.
He provided documentation proving that he was not in Nigeria at the time the alleged incident took place, effectively debunking the claims made against him.
Omokri’s statement follows recent accusations made by Senator Natasha against the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, relating to sexual advances.
Omokri’s statement reads: “I have been inundated with calls from almost all major media outlets in Nigeria to interview me about the issues involving the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and Senator Natasha Akpoti. These media organisations wanted my take, seeing that I was once accused by Senator Natasha Akpoti of the exact grave allegations that she is now accusing the Senate President of.
“Against my will, I have been trending on various social media platforms, and for the sake of my family, it would be best to put this matter to rest. Rather than speak with multiple media outlets, perhaps I can ease the pressure on me by putting out this statement.’
“I do not know if what Senator Natasha Akpoti accused the Senate President of is true, as I was not physically present when the alleged events took place. However, I can testify that Senator Natasha Akpoti once had an altercation with me on social media over a post where a woman made advances at me and I rejected her and stated that my wife is a beauty queen and is more than enough for me.
“Apparently the woman is or was a friend of Senator Akpoti. And after I had scorned her friend’s advances, Senator Akpoti accused me of sexually harassing her at Aso Rock Presidential Villa, during a reception held for the visiting Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, when he visited Nigeria between May 4 and May 7 2014.
“Unfortunately for Senator Akpoti, during those dates, I was sent to the United States of America as President Jonathan’s special envoy. I met and was photographed with multiple U.S. officials, including State Department officials, in Washington, D.C.
“I then published a First Class British Airways ticket and my passport (which was a different class of passport from the regular Nigerian passport and requires a special kind of stamp), proving that I was not in Nigeria on the dates Senator Akpoti alleged I sexually harassed her.
“After I published that evidence, Miss Natasha Akpoti, as she then was, deleted every trace of her allegations against me and the video she had made insulting me, my wife and my newborn daughter.
“As I was pondering the next steps to take, a very influential and respectable man from my ethnic nationality, reached out to a prominent Christian clergyman, who mediated between him and I. The gentleman greeted me in my mother tongue, Itsekiri, and was most gentlemanly and expressed regrets over the incident, and I was prevailed on by the clergyman to reach an out-of-court settlement.
“Thereafter, I dropped the matter since my name had been cleared, and the out-of-court settlement was adequate.
“That is the extent of my encounter with Senator Natasha Akpoti. I hope the media can now leave me alone, as I am reluctant to grant any interviews or get entangled in this matter, seeing as I have the highest respect for the man who reached out to me to settle the matter.
“As for the Senate, I have the highest respect and confidence in that institution and its leadership and believe that the right thing to do would be to institute a Senate investigation by the appropriate committee to determine the veracity of the present allegations.”
Ighodalo is challenging the outcome of the Sept. 21, 2024 governorship election in the state.
The Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal reserved the judgment on Monday after counsel in the matter adopted their final written addresses.
According to Justice Kpochi, a date for judgment will be communicated to parties by the secretary of the trubunal.
“The tribunal stands adjourned until then,” he said.
At the resumed hearing of the matter, counsel to the petitioners, Mr Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN told the tribunal that the business of the day was for adoption of final written addresses.
Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Mr Kanu Agabi, SAN proceeded to adopt the final address of his client.
Agabi by way of adumbration prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition for lacking in merit.
He said this was based on the grounds that the tribunal could not annul the Sept. 21, 2024 governorship election because it was not one of the reliefs sought by the petitioners.
The senior lawyer also told the tribunal that it could not declare the petitioners as winners of that election in the light of their own assertion that the election was invalid.
Speaking on the claim of non-compliance pleaded by the petitioners, Agabi said it was weak as it was not accompanied by the appropriate relief which was nullification of election.
He also said that the claim of majority of lawful votes pleaded by the petitioners could not avail them since their other claim was that the election was invalid.
He also argued that the number of polling unit agents called as witnesses represented an insignificant or even negligible per cent of the number of polling units in Edo.
Another ground that INEC prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition based on was that all the polling unit agents called as witnesses signed the result sheet and they could not distinguish between what they heard and what they saw.
“This is a clear indication that the election was conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
“The results were duly collated at all levels of collation.
“The petitioners have not pleaded any alternative results on the basis of which they can be declared as winners.
“The case of the petitioners is based on analysis undertaken by hired consultants ,” he said.
He further held that the documents upon which the petitioners relied were all dumped on the tribunal and could not be used in their favour.
He therefore prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition in its entirety as it had no merit.
For his part, counsel to Gov. Monday Okpebholo, Mr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN told the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the grounds that it had become an academic exercise.
He said that in the course of their research, they carefully extracted the polling units which the petitioners tendered documents on and compared them to the ones they presented and even at that, his client was well ahead of the petitioners in the polls.
On the contentious Form EC25b where the petitioners claimed the serial numbers of sensitive materials must be given, Ikpeazu said that all that was required for the form was quantity of electoral materials received and quantity returned.
He added that a pronouncement of the Supreme Court said that one could not prove over voting without the Bimodal Verification Authentication System (BVAs) Machines but that none of the machines was opened to allow the tribunal look at the content.
According to him, the petitioners by not tendering the right documents, failed to prove over voting on the whole.
Speaking on behalf of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Mr Emmanuel Ukala argued that it was clear that the case of the petitioners was based virtually and entirely on non-compliance.
“By the nature of the case they pleaded, the Supreme Court has over the years laid down that they need to prove this by polling unit to polling unit, ward to ward and local government by local government.”
He, however, held that rather than prove this, the petitioners dumped documents on the court.
He said that without polling unit agents testifying to those documents, they were useless and the case remained unproved.
Ukala argued that with over 4,000 polling units in Edo, the petitioners called only five polling unit agents and no single presiding officer.
He also said that since the petitioners failed to demonstrate how the BVAs worked, it was clear that the case of the petitioners was not proved and it should be dismissed.
Responding, counsel to the petitioners, Mr Ken Moze, SAN, said that with 4519 polling units in Edo, the complaint in the petition was concerning 765 of them.
According to him, it is law that successful prosecution of election petition is not about the percentage of the total polling units in the state but the effect of the successive establishment of the complaint.
He further argued that the petition must be considered whollistically and not in parts.
“So the submission of isolating grounds and labeling them alone as academic is not well founded,” he said.
On the issue of not presenting the tribunal with an alternative result, the senior lawyer said that it was on record that all the results before the tribunal were tendered by his client.
On why the petitioners called only five polling unit agents, he said that the grouse of his client was with what happened at the collation centres and not at the polling units so they didn’t need more than five agents to testify.
“We concede that elections took place at the polling units but how 25 votes metamorphosed to 525 votes at the collation center is what we are quarrelling with,” he said.
Speaking on the claim that they dumped documents on the tribunal, Moze said that all the documents they tendered were duly certified by INEC and were tendered without objection from the commission, the makers of the document.
He also held that the tribunal had requisite jurisdiction to hear the petition because their allegations were not pre-election matters.
Having taken all the arguments, Justice Kpochi said that judgment in the matter was reserved to a date to be communicated to the parties by the secretary of the tribunal.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that the PDP and its governorship candidate, Mr Asue Ighodalo approached the tribunal, praying it to invalidate the outcome of the governorship election on the grounds of alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
They further contended that Okpebholo did not secure the highest number of majority votes cast in that election.(NAN)
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BREAKING: Lagos Assembly Speaker Meranda resigns from office
BREAKING: Lagos Assembly Speaker Meranda resigns from office
Mojisola Meranda has resigned as Speaker of Lagos State Assembly amid leadership crisis that has engulfed the House
But the crisis remain unresolved as Obasa’s removal divided the Assembly, and party’s leadership in the state.
Meranda said she resigned to protect the state assembly, adding that she is not a quitter.
“I take a bow as your Speaker,” she announced.
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Before announcing her resignation, the state lawmakers took turns to commend her legislative acumen, diligence, and performance within her short time in office.
Showering praises on Meranda, Desmond Olusola Elliot thanked her, saying she demonstrated good leadership and led the house well.
Another lawmaker, Temitope Adewale Ifako-Ijaiye I, said, “We celebrate you for your quality service. You are a heroine of democracy. You came, you saw, you conquer. You are a victim of circumstance. This house is in tears.”
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JUST IN; Obasa meets with Speaker Meranda, 34 Lawmakers APC Chairman amid Leadership crisis
JUST IN; Obasa meets with Speaker Meranda, 34 Lawmakers APC Chairman amid Leadership crisis
The impeached Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, held a meeting with the Speaker, Mojisola Meranda and 34 other lawmakers, at the assembly complex.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that also present at the meeting is the Lagos State Chairman, All Progressive Congress (APC), Cornelius Ojelabi.
NAN observed that Obasa, who arrived at the assembly complex at about 1:45 p.m., exchanged pleasantries with the 35 lawmakers.
The meeting between the two factions is connected to how to resolve the speakership crisis at the state assembly.