•Marital exploits produce four children from three husbands
Beyond her current face-off with Senate President Godswill Akpabio and her suspension by the Senate for unruly behaviour, there are many other parts of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, which are hidden from the public, SANI ONOGU reports.
For three weeks, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly has been in the news, rocking the political landscape with her face-off with the Senate and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. …CONTINUE READING
It all began on February 20 with a routine administrative act of rearranging sitting arrangements in the upper chamber following which the Kogi senator was allocated a new seat. She, however, rejected the new arrangement and insisted on maintaining her old seat.
Her attempt to address the Senate from her old seat was rebuffed by the Senate President, who insisted she would only be allowed to speak from the new seat allocated to her by the Senate’s Chief Whip. The outspoken Senator immediately made a show of the incident, accusing the Senate President and persecuting her.
The disagreement later assumed a new dimension with an allegation by Natasha that the Senate President was opposed to her because she had previously rejected his sexual advances. She later took her case to radio and television stations, following which the Senate sent her on six-month suspension for unruly behavior.
But rather than becoming sober, Natasha became even more defiant, dragging the Senate President and other principal officers of the upper chamber to court for contempt. Still not satisfied with involving the courts in the matter, she recently escalated the matter further by taking her case to the United Nations (UN) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Natasha has been a formidable force in Kogi State politics since 2019, defying the odds in a male-dominated space. As a trained lawyer and entrepreneur, she first gained public recognition through her advocacy for the revival of Nigeria’s steel industry, particularly the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Her entry into politics was marked by resilience, as she contested for the Kogi Central senatorial seat multiple times, facing strong opposition from established political structures. And despite electoral setbacks, she remained a vocal advocate for good governance, industrialization and women’s empowerment.
Beyond politics, Akpoti-Uduaghan carved a niche for herself as an activist and philanthropist, championing causes that addressed gender inequality, youth empowerment and social justice. Through the Natasha Akpoti Foundation, she provided scholarships, vocational training and healthcare support for underprivileged Nigerians, particularly in Kogi Central, which is made up of Okene, Okehi, Adavi, Ajaokuta and Ogori-Magongo local government areas.
The extension of her activism to exposing corruption in the steel sector apparently made her a target for political persecution. She, however, remained undeterred, using every available platform to push for reforms that could transform the lives of ordinary citizens. Her eventual success in winning a senatorial seat was seen by many as a victory for women in Nigerian politics.
In the Senate, Akpoti-Uduaghan focused on legislative efforts to boost industrialization, enhance security and improve social welfare. She was vocal on issues affecting her constituents, especially in the areas of infrastructure, healthcare and job creation. However, her tenure has not been without challenges. Political tensions, party rivalries and legal battles have continued to shadow her journey, raising questions about her long-term political prospects.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s personal life has been as eventful as her political career. Her marriage to businessman and politician Emmanuel Uduaghan brought her further into the political limelight, merging her Kogi-Central roots with Delta State’s political landscape. Their union, marked by public displays of affection and mutual political aspirations, sparked both admiration and controversy. Supporters viewed her love story as an inspiring blend of romance and politics, while critics speculated on the strategic implications of her marriage. Regardless, she maintained that love and family remained central to her drive for success.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s journey may be a testament to resilience in the face of adversity. While she achieved groundbreaking success in politics and advocacy, the challenges she faced—from electoral disputes to political machinations—have shaped the trajectory of her career. Whether her influence in Nigerian politics will endure or fade remains an open question. However, one thing is certain: she has already etched her name in history as a woman who dared to challenge the status quo.
The events of February 20 in the Senate chamber unleashed a firestorm across the country and internationally. The day had started with the Chief Whip of the Senate, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, reporting to the Senate that the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had refused to accept a new seat allocated to her. Akpoti-Uduaghan had sought to explain her rejection of the seat. Citing order 10 of the Senate Standing Orders 2023, as amended, she claimed that her privilege was breeched.
The Senate President Godswill Akpabio, however, thought otherwise. Akpabio said he would not recognise her to speak until she relocated to and speak from her new seat. The insistence of Akpoti Uduaghan to continue her speech amid raised voices caused commotion and led to a near open confrontation with the presiding officer. However, it was like the melee let out a dangerous genie from the vestibule of the Senate chamber which has refused to be placated.
Shortly after that, Natasha went to court, claiming N100 billion from Akpabio for alleged defamation. She claimed that a Facebook post by Akpabio’s aide, Mfom Patrick, after the incident in the chamber ‘sexualized’ her and vowed to go down fighting.
The Senate had the same Tuesday referred the incident at plenary to its committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions for investigation. But in the midst of this, Natasha appeared on an Arise TV morning show claiming that Akpabio had been frustrating her legislative duties because she rebuffed his alleged sexual advances. But Akpabio’s wife, Nnoma, would not have any of Natasha’s allegation, hence she dragged the Senator before the Federal High Court, claiming N251 billion for defamation.
Following the allegation, pro-Natasha protesters gathered at the National Assembly gate on Monday, calling on Akpabio to step down to allow for an unbiased investigation of the allegation of sexual harassment raised by her. She also secured an injunction stopping the Ethics committee from probing her alleged misconduct during plenary. The following day, Natasha brought a petition concerning her sexual harassment claims to the chamber. The other senators, however, kicked against it, saying it was against their rules for a Senator to present a petition authored by him or herself.
The Ethics Committee, which threw out Natasha’s sexual harassment petition, however found her liable of misconduct upon which she was suspended for six months with other conditionalities.
On the same day, Natasha had submitted another petition still on sexual harassment claiming it was signed by one of her constituents. This petition is yet to be considered by the Senate. However, two weeks after, precisely on Wednesday, March 12, Senator Akpabio announced a minor shakeup in the chairmanship of the Senate Standing Committees and the creation of new ones.
Senators Natasha, Orji Uzor Kalu and Abdul Ningi, among others, were affected in the new arrangement. Akpabio appointed Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas (APC – Delta South) as the new chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content formerly chaired by Natasha and reassigned her to the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs.
Parentage and upbringing
Natasha, according to information on her website at www.natashaakpoti.com, was born on Sunday, December 9, 1979 at the Maternity Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State (now University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital). She is the second of four children and only daughter of a Nigerian father and a Ukrainian mother. Her mother, Ludmila Kravchenko, was born in Rakitna in the region of Chernivtsi in Ukraine, while her father, Dr. Jimoh Abdul Akpoti, was born in Obeiba-Ihima, Kogi State (then Kwara State).
Natasha’s parents had met in the then Soviet Union where her father was a foreign medical student on scholarship at the Bolomolets Medical University, Ukraine.
She spent her early years as a child growing up and being educated in her native communities – Okehi, Okene, Adavi and Ajaokuta towns. Her most fascinating moments during her upbringing, she said, were lessons of philanthropy and empathy for humanity that her father (who died on November 3, 1998) taught by practically treating the poor for free, paying tuition for thousands of school children, supporting hundreds of local farmers and traders with their businesses and so much more.
“Father came home one day looking pale and faint after donating two pints of blood to patients who couldn’t afford any. That moment defined my belief that helping the poor should hurt and it formed my rhetoric rationale on becoming a social entrepreneur,” she said.
Recalling her early childhood, Natasha loved cheering the colourful masquerades known as ‘Eku’ in her local Ebira dialect. She loathed being called Oyinbo pepper (the white one) by people of her community. “I knew my mother had a complexion different from everyone around us. She was white. However, I didn’t think I was any different from the children I played with barefoot in my village… but I surely hated being followed and teased Oyinbo by the children whenever I expressed a different point of view,” she said.
Till date, Natasha experiences social sensitivities towards her multiracial heritage.
Education
Natasha attended Christ the King Nursery and Primary School, Okene, Kogi State for six years to obtain her primary school certificate. At the school she held the post of social prefect and was acknowledged in her testimonial to be very quiet, hardworking and responsible.
Natasha had her Junior Secondary education at the Government Girls Unity Secondary School, Oboroke, Kogi State after which she proceeded to the Federal Government College Idoani, Ondo State for her Senior Secondary School. Her exceptional academic and personal performances earned her the leadership position of Head Girl.
She graduated in 1997, with the school authorities acknowledging her as being “responsible, hardworking and a diligent prefect” in her school leaving testimonial.
However, barely three weeks after losing her father, Natasha gained admission into the University of Abuja to obtain her Bachelor of Law. A week later, she got married at the tender age of 19 and had her first son Daniel months after. Natasha recalled her university years as those where she learnt that “the fragility of innocence attracted mercilessly the world’s monsters.”
In 2004, Natasha proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja and was called to the Nigerian Bar by the Body of Benchers on the 8th November 2005.
In 2012, Natasha bagged a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Dundee in Scotland, UK. The knowledge she gained from the course later shaped her advocacy for the resuscitation of the Nigeria’s Steel sector with focus on the revival of Ajaokuta Steel Complex in Kogi State.
According to Natasha, her “decision to become a social entrepreneur and reformer in 2015 was born out of innate passion to position Nigeria on the fore of industrialization and judiciously harness the vast natural and human resources all in a bid to create employment and eradicate poverty in Nigeria.”
Love and family life
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is married to High Chief Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri Kingdom. Their union has been celebrated as a blend of cultural diversity and mutual respect. Although the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi claimed during a show on the television that Natasha has six children from six different men, our investigation revealed that she has four children (one boy from her first husband, a boy and a girl from her second husband and another boy for High Chief Uduaghan, her present husband.
According to a media report, Natasha and Uduaghan dated for a while before they decided to get married.
“Before then, the wealthy businessman spoiled her silly with some of the best things that money can buy, including financing her political campaign for the 2019 governorship election in Kogi State and gifting her with a white Rolls-Royce car. Even her three children benefitted from his generosity,” the report added.
High Chief Uduaghan, cousin of two past governors of Delta State, Chief James Ibori and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, is also the Chief Executive Officer of Webster Group of companies. He was crowned Alema of Warri Kingdom in a grand ceremony held in 2017 reportedly in recognition of his love for the Itsekiris and contribution to the welfare of the people in terms of poverty alleviation and youth empowerment. Despite her public life being under scrutiny, Natasha has maintained a relatively private approach to her family life.
Foray into politics
Natasha ventured into politics in 2019, contesting for the Kogi Central Senatorial District seat under the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Although she lost to APC candidate, Yakubu Oseni, she demonstrated resilience by running for Governor of Kogi State on November 16 of same year. However, she lost to ex-Governor Yahaya Bello from whom she endured a lot of frustration politically.
In 2023, Natasha joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and contested again for the Kogi Central Senatorial District seat. Despite facing challenges such as alleged electoral interference by the Kogi State Government, Natasha won after a rigorous legal battle. The election tribunal declared her winner on September 6, 2023, nullifying her opponent’s victory. Her triumph was further affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Achievements
Natasha has numerous achievements to her credit, among which are: The first Ebira woman to be recognised with the African Women Leadership Award by Mrs. Jewel Taylor, who served as the 30th vice president of Liberia from 2018 – 2024, first Ebira woman to float NGO of international standard to take care of the aged ones and over 600 under-privileged children and orphans which earned her so many awards across the world, first Ebira Woman and indeed first Nigerian non-engineer to receive the presidential award from the Nigerian Society of Engineers on December 2017 for her efforts on Ajaokuta Steel’s revival, first Ebira woman to be elected as Senator and THISDAY Newspaper Senator of the year 2024.
As a senator, Natasha focused on infrastructure development and healthcare initiatives. In 2024, she commissioned road networks and classroom blocks at Abdul Azeez Memorial College in Okene, oversaw solar-powered water systems across 300 locations and initiated healthcare outreach programmes and rehabilitated primary health centres and a police station. She boasts of a strong social media presence with over 370,000 followers on Facebook alone.
Controversies and accusations
Natasha’s allegation of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio had sparked political turmoil within the Senate and led to investigation by the Ethics Committee.
A former presidential media aide, Reno Omokri, had shared a throwback video of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan accusing him of sexual harassment. The resurfaced video came just days after the Kogi senator made a similar allegation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Omokri posted the video on his Facebook page on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
The footage, originally recorded on October 12, 2021, showed Akpoti-Uduaghan making the accusation while campaigning for the Kogi State governorship under the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In the video, Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed that Omokri sexually harassed her on May 6, 2014, during a state banquet at Aso Rock Presidential Villa, hosted by then-President Goodluck Jonathan for visiting Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
She also rejected Omokri’s defence that he was not in the country on the date in question. She also called on the Nigerian immigration Service to probe Omokri’s claims that he was not in the country at the time.
But Omokri, in a rebuttal, said President Jonathan sent him to the United States as a special envoy to try to clean up Nigeria’s image after the Chibok girls’ crisis.
He said: “On Tuesday, 12 October 2021, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had a dispute with me, and after the dispute, she went on social media and accused me of sexually harassing her. Now, the thing is, a month before, the Chibok girls were abducted, as one of the president’s spokespersons, Goodluck Jonathan sent me to the United States as a special envoy to try to clean up Nigeria’s image.
“I left in April and was back in Nigeria until the end of May. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan lied. So what I did was I went on social media and published my passport stamps with my passport leaving Nigeria and then entering the United States showing the stamp. I also published a first-class British Airway ticket showing that I left Nigeria for the United Kingdom and from there to the United States. I wasn’t in Nigeria until Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan accused me.”
Omokri noted that after he published his evidence in national dailies, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan deleted all her accusations across all her social media handles.
“She had made a video insulting me, my wife and my newborn daughter; she also deleted that. The next day, I got a phone call from a prominent Christian clergyman who said they felt that, as a fellow pastor, I’d listen to a member of the body of Christ. The senior member of the body of Christ called me on three ways with Emmanuel Uduaghan, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s present husband.
“They appealed to me and quoted scriptural references about Christians taking each other to court. I listened to them and settled the matter out of court, and I was paid a large amount of money as damages, and I let the matter go”, Omokri said.
Suspension
Her tenure became increasingly contentious following disputes over sitting arrangements and other procedural issues. The Senate Ethics Committee recommended her suspension for six months on charges of breaching Senate rules and bringing disrepute to the chamber.
Alongside this suspension came penalties such as withdrawal of salary, allowances, legislative aides’ benefits and security escorts.
Natasha condemned these actions as politically motivated attempts to silence her advocacy for justice. She vowed to challenge what she described as an abuse of power and injustice.
But how far can she go in this battle to reverse the decision of the Senate. Her cause seems to be favoured by the opinion in some quarters that the Senate does not have the legal power to suspend her for six months.
Will the Senate reverse its decision and recall the embattled Senator or will she be made to serve out the term? Only time will tell.
Provide evidence or drop allegations against Akpabio, Adeyanju tells Natasha
Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, called on Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) to present concrete evidence to back her allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Adeyanju stated that without verifiable proof, Nigerians should not dwell on the matter.
He urged the public to focus on more pressing issues, such as the Tax Reform Bill and its potential impact on low- and middle-income earners.
According to him, solid evidence would lend credibility to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claims and warrant public scrutiny of Akpabio’s actions.
However, without such proof, the allegations remain unsubstantiated.
Adeyanju also argued that the controversy had been overflogged and should be resolved in court.
He criticised the selective outrage over the issue, noting that there was little public reaction when lawmakers received luxury cars and budgetary allocations.
According to him, “the matter has been over-flogged. I believe that the parties should go to court and resolve their dispute. We should focus on Nigeria’s Tax Reform Bill and explore ways to galvanize opposition against its passage, as that is more important than this internal issue.”
He also questioned why the same senators now engaged in the dispute did not oppose the anti-people policies of the current administration.
-Culled: The Nation
