Ezekwesili: I’m Satisfied with My Verbal Exchange with Sen Onyekachi Nwebonyi

•Senator: I have no regrets

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has defended her clash with the senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, at a Senate Committee hearing on Tuesday.

In response, Senator Nwaeboyi, too, said he had no regret in the manner he responded to Ezekwesili.

Speaking when she appeared on a television programme monitored in Abuja, Ezekwesili stated that she was pleased with her verbal engagement with the lawmaker, saying the clash had exposed what women face in a patriarchal society.

 “I was very pleased with what happened yesterday because now it is in the public domain what women endure in many instances, and the rest of society may know a little about it but has not focused on it.

“It has now come to the top of our public agenda that we should not allow for a society that shuts down voices,” she said.

The clash occurred during a Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions hearing on a fresh petition submitted by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

 Ezekwesili was present at the hearing alongside Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the chief petitioner from Kogi Central, Zubairu Yakubu.

Trouble started when the petitioner urged the Chairman of the Committee, Neda Imasuen, to step down in the case following the ‘controversial’ manner in which he had so far handled the alleged sexual harassment allegation against Akpabio.

 He further alleged that some committee members had pre-existing ties to Akpabio, which he said compromised their ability to be neutral.

 His remarks angered some lawmakers, who accused him of attempting to undermine the committee’s credibility.

Ezekwesili then slammed Senate for rejecting Natasha’s harassment petition.

Immediately, she, too, came under fire for what they saw as her insistence on forcing herself into the proceedings.

Ezekwesili insisted on being heard out.

But Nwaebonyi of Ebonyi North defended his clash with Ezekwesili.

Also, in an interview on television programme monitored in Abuja, Nwaebonyi claimed Ezekwesili instigated the confrontation by calling him a hooligan and telling him to “shut up.”

 He maintained that his response was justified, stating, “For a mother like you, a grandmother of your age, a former minister of the Federal Republic to tell a sitting senator to shut up and call him a hooligan, that’s unacceptable.”

When asked if he regretted the incident, he remained firm: “How can I regret the scenario? I gave it to her. Is it fair for her to address me that way? As a former minister and a grandmother, ask her first.”