* As Senate crisis increases Akpoti-Uduaghan’s popularity
* Let Kogi produce Nigeria’s first female VP – Youth leader
* Obi’s camp mum
* ‘Obi must be wary of her’
In a typical example of turning a drawback into a trump card, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan appears to have capitalised on her suspension from the upper legislative chamber to a huge political advantage, DAUDA ISMAIL writes.
It started with a shouting match between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio over violation of a legislative rule that stipulates that a member cannot be recognised to speak unless he/she is on the assigned seat.
But in surprising turn of events, the Kogi senator stirred the Hornets nest as she dropped a bombshell, alleging the Senate President harassed her sexually in December 2023, barely two months after she joined the 10th Senate via a court ruling,. but which she supposedly kept to herself for over a year.
Her suspension for six months, plus a number of court cases either filed by her or by Akpabio’s wife, and the huge traction this crisis has garnered is very obvious for all to see.
However, barely 24 hours after her huge, unprecedented reception by her constituents in Okene after smartly defying the state government, many Nigerians were jolted by a poster pairing her with the former two-time governor of Anambra State the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi for Nigeria’s seat of power come 2027.
According to Shuna Fakum, a public affairs analyst, “I might not be a fan of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan especially after I think she goofed with the accusation of the same sexual harassment of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s media aid, Reno Omokri, but after keenly watching her and the purposeful and calculated role she has played since the beginning of this crisis, I think she not only knows what she’s doing, but that Senator Akpabio, the Senate leadership and indeed the All Progressives Congress, APC, all played into her hands .
*I think she holds virtually all the aces in this game, and has been preempting her opponents all the way. When I saw that massive crowd that came out to welcome and express solidarity with her in her constituency, I instantly knew she knew exactly what she was doing, and was in charge of her game.
“If she had decided to go home sometime before this ‘ordeal’, I bet there is no way she could have seen even a fifth of that crowd come out to welcome and associate with her.
“I can see that she has understood the ways and reasoning of not only her constituents, but the larger Nigerian society and the world at large. Otherwise, how would anyone explain how she worked her way to the Inter Parliamentary Union meeting held as a side event during the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, CSW, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and her well calculated and orchestrated performance when she took the stage to voice a deep concern over her suspension from the National Assembly?
“I bet that she is a woman who not only knows what she wants, but also knows how to get it. So even though I didn’t expect it, I wasn’t surprised to find her photograph alongside that of Peter Obi in a 2027 poster as vice president and president. She has had a sudden groundswell of supporters across Nigeria and beyond.”
Like Fakum, another respondent, Joshua Mudiaga, says: ‘In Nigeria, the easiest way to get grassroots support politically, is when it is perceived that you are at loggerheads with the power brokers or the government in power and I think Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan understands this better than the Senate leadership and the APC as a party itself. That is why she is using it perfectly to her political advantage.
“With the ranks of the ‘Obidients’ not looking to go down, when she brings her grassroots support across the country, plus that of the everyday women folk, I think the duo will be force to be reckoned with. Natasha is now the most popular Nigerian politician of today.”
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has had the support of several notable politians especially in the party like former vice president and the presidential flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP; founding member and notable chieftain of the PDP, Chief Ola Bode George, former minister of education as well as solid minerals, Obiageli Ezekwesili amongst others.
However, her support also cuts across party lines even in the ruling APC. Recall that former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism, and APC Chieftain, Hon. Jonathan Vatsa, had condemned the persistent political harassment of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, warning that these actions are only increasing her popularity and strengthening her political influence.
Like Fakum, another respondent, Joshua Mudiaga, says: ‘In Nigeria, the easiest way to get grassroots support politically, is when it is perceived that you are at loggerheads with the power brokers or the government in power and I think Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan understands this better than the Senate leadership and the APC as a party itself. That is why she is using it perfectly to her political advantage.
“With the ranks of the ‘Obidients’ not looking to go down, when she brings her grassroots support across the country, plus that of the everyday women folk, I think the duo will be force to be reckoned with. Natasha is now the most popular Nigerian politician of today.”
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has had the support of several notable politians especially in the party like former vice president and the presidential flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP; founding member and notable chieftain of the PDP, Chief Ola Bode George, former minister of education as well as solid minerals, Obiageli Ezekwesili amongst others.
However, her support also cuts across party lines even in the ruling APC. Recall that former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism, and APC Chieftain, Hon. Jonathan Vatsa, had condemned the persistent political harassment of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, warning that these actions are only increasing her popularity and strengthening her political influence.
Notwithstanding this groundswell of support for the senator, there are still others who do not still trust her. For instance, a lady who gave her name as Mama Africa said, “When my son brought that poster to my knowledge, I prayed instantly that it should be a hoax. But with the way people are already speaking in favour of she pairing with Obi my kinsman, I can only warn our dear Peter Obi to be wary of this Natasha of a woman as I see has a a wolf in sheep’s covering; a green snake under green grass. I pray Obi doesn’t fall to this trap.”
Meanwhile, the Obi camp has so far remained silent on the posters gradually spreading through the Internet. Many Nigerians who spoke with this medium,.however hope to hear from.either him or his camp soon. “We need to know it’s source so we know what to do as soon as possible,” one respondent told AljazirahNigeria Newspapers.
