Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has opened up on what transpired during the Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee hearing on Tuesday where she had a heated exchange with Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi of Ebonyi State.
The altercation occurred during proceedings on a sexual harassment petition filed by suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Ezekwesili explained that tensions rose when she asked Nwaebonyi, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, to “shut up” after he interrupted her during the hearing.
“I was addressing the committee when he began speaking over me. I simply said, ‘Can you please shut up?’ That’s when he lost his composure,” she stated.
Nwaebonyi responded with derogatory remarks, calling her an “insult to womanhood” and a “hooligan.”
Ezekwesili attended the hearing in solidarity with Akpoti-Uduaghan, who alleged her suspension was linked to sexual harassment claims against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Ezekwesili who insisted her actions were in defense of due process and accountability, stated that, “We cannot allow such matters to be swept under the rug. It’s about justice and integrity in governance.”
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, the ex-minister said the Senate panel explained that the case was before the court and was sub judice.
“The petitioner had insisted that he would not proceed with his main petition until he received assurances regarding the two objections he had raised,” Ezekwesili said.
“However, the panel interpreted this stance as a sign that we were not ready to engage in the matter.
“Then, suddenly, they also argued that the case was sub-judice because there were two related cases in court.
“They mentioned the case filed by the wife of the Senate President and suggested that, based on that, proceedings should not continue.
“At that point, Dr. Abiola questioned the very basis for convening the jury. While all of this was unfolding, a certain Senator, whom I will not acknowledge by name, spoke up.”
“He declared that since we were unwilling to provide any testimony, he was present as a representative of the Senate President, who was the respondent, and that he was prepared to speak because, in his view, we could not continue in this manner.
“In response, ‘I said to him, can you please shut up?’, because we had just been informed that we were not allowed to speak, yet he was doing so freely without any form of an equivalent treatment.
“The justification for silencing us was that we were unwilling to proceed without first addressing our objections.
“When I told him to be quiet and that remark provoked the senator, though he was already agitated.
“He was already provoked, his anger stemmed from the belief that we were not taking the matter seriously.”
Ezekwesili added that Nwaebonyi’s reaction reflected the “indecorous behaviour” of some public officials in the country.
The Ebonyi lawmaker had criticised the former minister for first calling him a “hooligan” and ordering a serving Senator to “shut up”.
The deputy chief whip had said he has no regrets about the incident and still respects Ezekwesili as a woman despite all that transpired.
