Former Presidential Adviser and former federal lawmaker, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has dismissed claims of sexual harassment at the level of National Assembly, saying making such accusations by a female Senator was a sign of weakness.
She stated that once a woman attained the position of Senator, she can no longer be a victim of sexual harassment.
Ita-Giwa made the assertion while reacting to recent sexual harassment allegations made by the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpoti-Uduaghan had a few days ago alleged on a live television programme that Akpabio deliberately blocked her attempts to raise motions on the Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State because she refused his sexual advances.
But, speaking on Arise News Channel on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Senator Ita-Giwa dismissed the claim, arguing that female Senators should not consider themselves vulnerable to harassment once they are elected.
According to her, “By the time you contest elections and get to Senate, you have passed that stage of your life of being sexually harassed. You go there to serve, and you are all equal in that place. And again, it shows weakness; you don’t allow it. It (sexual harassment) cannot happen in the Senate.”
While clarifying that she was not outrightly accusing Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of lying against Akpabio, Ita-Giwa maintained that women in the Senate should not define themselves by their gender but by their role as lawmakers. “I am not saying the lady is lying, but when you get to the Senate, you’re there as a person. You’re not there as a woman. At that stage in politics, if you come out and say someone is sexually harassing you, it is a weakness.”
When asked whether female lawmakers should remain silent in the face of harassment from male colleagues, Ita-Giwa stood firm on her position, insisting that making such allegations was a sign of weakness. “On this matter, I am not with Senator Akpoti. It is the worst sign of weakness on a woman’s part to come out and accuse a man of making passes at you at that level,” she said.
She further emphasised that winning a senatorial election is no an easy feat, and as such, female Senators should consider themselves equal to their male counterparts rather than portraying themselves as victims.
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