President Bola Tinubu's Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, confirmed the intervention on Friday, stating that negotiations are underway with the leadership of the National Assembly.

The Nigerian government has said it has stepped into the ongoing dispute between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, seeking a resolution following her suspension from the Senate. 

President Bola Tinubu's Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, confirmed the intervention on Friday, stating that negotiations are underway with the leadership of the National Assembly.

“We’re engaging all the stakeholders to ensure that they temper justice with mercy,” she told State House correspondents during a Meet-the-Press Programme at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Her remarks come just 24 hours after the 10th Senate suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, for six months. 

The suspension followed her petition alleging that she had been sexually harassed by Akpabio. 

The lawmaker first raised the alarm on February 28, but the Senate dismissed her petition on procedural grounds. Tl

The ethics committee subsequently recommended her suspension, arguing that she had brought ridicule to the upper chamber.

Describing the situation as unfortunate, Suleiman-Ibrahim stressed the importance of retaining female representation in the Senate. 

“It’s an unfortunate incident that should not happen. In the last assembly, we had nine senators that were women. We don’t want to lose any woman member in the Senate or decrease in the numbers,” she said.

The minister affirmed that the government is committed to finding a peaceful resolution. “We’re going to be brokering peace. We’ll engage all the stakeholders to ensure that they temper justice with mercy,” she added.

Suleiman-Ibrahim expressed confidence in the willingness of the Senate President to engage in dialogue. 

“I was at the National Assembly yesterday, at the Senate where we marked the International Women’s Day. The last thing the Senate president said was that ‘we’re open to broker peace.’

“So we’re going to be the intermediary between the two parties to see that we broker peace; for peace to reign, and then we’ll continue to sensitise everyone so that we learn to work better together as women and men,” she said.

The controversy between Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio has been brewing for weeks, escalating after she publicly accused him of sexual harassment. 

The Senate leadership, in response, dismissed her claims and moved swiftly to suspend her, a decision that has sparked controversy and heightened political tensions.