Senator Natasha Akpoti-Oduaghan on Tuesday accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of enlisting former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, to orchestrate her recall and assassination.
She made this claim while addressing her constituents at a rally in Ihima, Kogi Central.
According to Akpoti-Oduaghan, Akpabio initially approached Kogi’s incumbent governor, Usman Ododo, to initiate her recall.
However, Ododo allegedly declined, stating it would be impossible due to her strong support from the people.
Dissatisfied with Ododo’s response, Akpoti-Oduaghan alleged that Akpabio then turned to Bello, urging him to carry out the recall and assassination, with a promise to finance the process.
“But Akpabio was not satisfied; he then called for Yahaya Bello. It was Senator Asuqwo that drove Yahaya Bello to the Hiltons.
I was informed,” Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan 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 added, “Akpabio told Yahaya Bello to kill me. Akpabio told him to make sure that killing me does not happen in Abuja. It should be done here. So it will seem as if the people killed me here. I didn’t make that public, but we did notify the police about it.”
Aniete Ekong, spokesperson for Mr. Akpabio, was unavailable for comment regarding Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s latest allegation against his principal. A WhatsApp message sent to Mr. Ekong remained unanswered.
Similarly, Fanwo Kingsley, Kogi’s Commissioner for Information and spokesperson for the former governor, could not be reached for comments. A WhatsApp message sent to him also went unanswered.
Efforts to reach the Nigerian police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, for confirmation of Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claim that she had filed a petition with the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, regarding an alleged assassination plot by Mr. Akpabio and Mr. Bello, were unsuccessful.
Defying warnings from the police, the state governor, and a curfew imposed in her local government, Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan arrived in her constituency via chopper.
The Kogi Central lawmaker, who was suspended from the Senate for unruly behavior during plenary, accused Mr. Akpabio of sexual harassment.
She described her suspension as a witch-hunt by the Senate and an attempt to silence her for speaking out against Mr. Akpabio’s alleged misconduct.
