The immediate past Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, says the sitting arrangement row between Senators Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Godswill Akpabio should not be reduced to a gender affair.
Shaibu stated this on Wednesday on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television, adding that seats and offices of federal lawmakers are privileges and not rights.
He said seats and offices must be lobbied for by federal lawmakers.
Newspot reports that Shaibu occupied the Etsako Federal Constituency House of Representatives seat in the National Assembly from June 2015 to March 2016.
Before then, he spent eight years at the Edo state House of Assembly as a lawmaker.
“Interestingly, Natasha is my friend. Senator Akpabio, the President of the Senate, is my political leader.
“There are rules guiding the House. When I was in the National Assembly, it was the prerogative of the leadership of the House to allocate office and to allocate seats, and in the House, there is what is called lobbying; you lobby for everything.
“For you to have a good office when you come in, maybe because of my experience as a two-term member of Edo State House of Assembly, when I came to Abuja from day 1, I went quickly to lobby, to check the kind of offices that they have areas and locations,” he said.
Recall that on February 20, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central Senatorial District, rejected her assigned seat in the red chamber and challenged the Senate President’s order.
She has accused Akpabio of harassment and slammed a N100 billion alleged defamation suit against him while the Akpabio-led upper legislative chamber has referred her to the Senate disciplinary committee.
Also, it could be recalled that in July 2024, the Senate President apologised to Akpoti-Uduaghan over his nightclub comment about her.
