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Adeseye Ogunlewe, the former minister of works and housing, has offered his thoughts on the ongoing dispute between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Ogunlewe implied that one of the reasons she has trouble in the Senate is because of her beauty.

“Her beauty is a problem, there is no doubt about that. A woman should be skilful to get her way through. She is an endangered species, and I know some of them that will find their way through no matter what happens,” Ogunlewe said

Based on his personal experience, he pointed out that previous female senators never thought of themselves as less than their male counterparts. He said, citing Senator Florence Ita-Giwa as an example, “if you even mention that Ita-Giwa is a woman, the response you are going to get will make you ashamed of yourself, because they will stand up to you.”

In response to the harassment claims, Ogunlewe downplayed worries about misconduct in the Senate.

“No, it is a natural thing for a man to look at beautiful women. How can he be a man, and a beautiful woman is passing, and you close your eyes?” he remarked.

He explained that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s reported event happened at the Senate President’s home rather than in the Senate, adding, “So, don’t let us relate that one to what is happening in the chambers. There is no harassment at all in the chamber.”

Akpabio’s previous remarks, in which the Senate President said that despite being surrounded by attractive ladies, he has never behaved inappropriately, were also cited by Ogunlewe. Reiterating Akpabio’s position, Ogunlewe stated, “Beauty is not a problem for him.”

Speaking further on the problem of sexual harassment in Nigeria, he made the claim that  “when you toast, the woman will refuse. No, that’s not sexual harassment. That’s a different thing.”

Ogunlewe advised senior members and previous Senate Presidents to speak with Akpabio directly rather than publicly venting their frustrations in order to resolve the dispute.

“They should not sit down and criticise on the pages of newspapers. They can form their own committee and meet Akpabio, who probably is their junior. They should not put the Senate in this level of disrepute,” he advised.

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