‘I will never stop holding public office holders accountable’, Ezekwesili blasts critics

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has reaffirmed her commitment to demanding accountability from public officials, stating that no amount of insult or criticism will deter her.

Her statement follows a recent altercation with Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, representing Ebonyi North, during a Senate committee hearing. The confrontation stemmed from a petition filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, whom she accused of sexual harassment.

Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, had earlier alleged that her troubles in the Senate began after she rejected Akpabio’s alleged advances. She was later suspended for six months over what was described as “gross misconduct.”

Ezekwesili attended the Senate committee hearing as a witness alongside Abiola Akiode, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s counsel, and petitioner Zubairu Yakubu. However, the session grew heated when Nwaebonyi, appearing as a witness for Akpabio, repeatedly interrupted Ezekwesili, prompting her to tell him to “compose himself and stop making noise.” She also asked him to “shut up,” triggering an outburst from the senator.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ezekwesili decried the cyberbullying and insults she has faced from government loyalists over the years. She emphasized that Akpoti-Uduaghan deserves a fair hearing on her petition and criticized efforts to suppress the case.

“No amount of insults can ever make me stop demanding accountability in our democracy,” she wrote. “They want all of us to be quiet, endorse, and enable their bad governance, selfish behaviors, injustice, and criminality. But we will not be silenced.”

Ezekwesili insisted that the Senate must grant Akpoti-Uduaghan a fair hearing, dismissing attempts to discredit her allegations as mere “shenanigans.” She further condemned moves to recall the Kogi senator, describing them as fraudulent and an affront to the people’s will.

Following the incident, Akpoti-Uduaghan apologized to Ezekwesili, acknowledging that the former minister had taken the brunt of the insults on her behalf as a mother and leader.