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Denies Alleged Plot against Tinubu’s Administration
- Safiu Kehinde
Suspended Kogi State lawmaker, Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has explained reason behind deleting her chat with US-based Nigerian activist, Sandra Duru.
NPO Reported that Duru, who is also known as Professor Mgbeke, had in a livestream video recounted how Natasha allegedly offered her N200 million to implicate the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, over the sexual harrasment scandal between him and the Kogi lawmaker.
Providing evidences of her chat with Natasha, Duru alleged that the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District had deleted the part where she offered her the money with plot to use the case of a deceased girl in framing organ harvesting case against Akpabio.
Duru also claimed that Natasha admitted that her fight against the Senate President was not about sexual harrasment but plot to destabilize the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
Speaking on the allegations during an interview with renown journalist, Adeola Fayehun, on Saturday, Natasha firstly claimed she never discussed any plot to destroy Tinubu’s administration, stressing that she has good relationship with the President which Akpabio allegedly envied.
“I never said there were no sexual harrasment. I never said I’m out to destroy Tinubu Yoruba government. People who knows me will know I’m not a tribalist.
“I respect and appreciate every tribe in Nigeria, every ethnicity. I mean who am I say? I’m half-Ukrainian, half-Nigerian. Who am I to talk about tribe? That’s not my nature.
“If anybody said that, it’s people that sponsored and put those words to her (Prof. Mgbeke) because they knew I had a lot of support from Nigerians – not just in Kogi State but across the country and even in diaspora.
“He, the Senate President, also knows that I enjoyed to a large extent, a good relationship with the President himself- even though I have never said it in the open. But I’m saying it now and that actually annoyed him.
“There was a time that the Senate President told my husband that are you aware the your wife goes to see the President and he was like yes I’m aware. I do not have a hostile relationship with the President.” She said.
While noting that she was not voted by her constituents to antagonize or create enmity with the Tinubu’s administration, Natasha reiterated that her issue is strictly with Akpabio and not with the Senate or the Presidency.
“The people of Kogi Central voted me to work as a Senator, not to go there and antagonise and create enmity.
“My issue is with the Senate President, not with the Nigerian Senate, not the institution, and not the Presidency.” She said.
The suspended lawmaker then proceeded to recount her conversation with Duru who she claimed was introduced to her by a friend simply identified as Ina.
Natasha claimed that she had only messaged Duru to appreciate her for her support.
However, the activist, who Natasha claimed to have presented herself as Prof. Mgbeke, offered to mediate between the lawmaker and Akpabio for the resolution of the issue.
Natasha read her message which showed Duru presenting herself as a mediator.
Meanwhile, the Kogi lawmaker disclosed that she had forwarded her credentials to Duru which was what she claimed to have deleted.
Natasha said she deleted the credentials after turning down the activist’s request for contract to help further promote her agitation.
This, according to Natasha, did not go down well with Duru who allegedly resorted to plot to blackmail her, leading to the N200 million offer claim.
“If actually she said that what I deleted was me offering her N200 million to blackmail the Senate President, why is she talking about resolving this matter effectively? If I had castigated the Presidency; talked about destroying the Yoruba tribe and Yoruba government, then subsequent messages from her should have been in tune of what we had discussed.
“But here, she was presenting herself as mediator. She wanted to assume a role of mediating between the Senate President and myself on sexual harrasment. And then she was asking for a contract.
“At that point, I paused and called my friend, Ina. I said Ina, she mentioned something about contract. Did you have that conversation with her? She said no. She only mentioned that I was going to call her and appreciate her.
“I said she was asking for a contract but my fitness said I should ignore her.
“From this, I made her understand that I wasn’t going through any contract. I even called her to appreciate her because of what she has been doing.
“Our conversation is not in anyway in furtherance of an activity. From here you can tell.” She said.
More details later…