By George Mgbeleke

The Senate on Wednesday threw out the petition filed against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, saying the petition “is dead on arrival”

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions, Neda Imasuen, made the pronouncement at a public hearing raised for the purpose of investigating alleged misconduct against Senator Natasha.

Senator Imasuen also dismissed the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja restraining the Senate committee from subjecting Natasha to any disciplinary measures.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

According to him, since Senator Natasha had filed a sexual harassment case in court against Akpabio, the committee cannot entertain her petition on the same subject.

Imasuen added that by rule, the Senate and its committees do not entertain petitions that are already before any court.

Senator Imasuen argued that going by the principle of separation of powers, the court order restraining the Senate from taking disciplinary measures against the female senator was of no effect.

“The legislature is a separate arm of government and one arm of government cannot dictate to the other,” Imasuen said.

Adducing reasons for rejecting Senator Natasha’s sexual harassment petition, the committee said the filing and submission of the petition violated provisions of the Senate’s standing rules.

The committee said the petition was procedurally flawed, because the rule does not permit senators to sign petitions in their own names neither does it permit them to submit same by themselves.

Such petitions, it stated, ought to be signed by another senator and submitted to the Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions. The chairman of the committee, will in turn, lay the petition before the Senate during plenary.

“It is only when a resolution to treat the petition is adopted at plenary through a motion, that the Senate President refers it to the committee on Ethics and Public Petitions for investigation,” Imasuen said.

While dismissing the court order restraining the Senate committee from grilling Senator Natasha, the committee chairman said he actually received the court’s enrollment order brought to his office by Natasha’s lawyers.

“I received an entitlement order of the court which was brought to my office this afternoon by Senator Natasha’s lawyers. But there is the principle of separation of powers, which prevents one arm of government from interfering with the function of another arm of government.

“That is why the Senate does not entertain any petition if the subject of that petition is pending before any court of law because doing so will amount to interfering with the function of the judiciary, which is a separate arm of government.

“So the issue before us today, is the issue of alleged misconduct by Senator Natasha and this is not subject to any court action or restraining order. We are going to deliberate of this petition concerning her alleged misconduct, make our recommendations and submit our report to the Senate,” Imasuen said.

Senator Natasha must have shunned the committee’s hearing on the strength of a court order restraining the committee from investigating her and taking disciplinary measures against her.

The order was given on Tuesday by the presiding judge of a Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, following an ex parte application filed by Senator Natasha’s lawyers.

Natasha was referred to the Senate committee last week following the adoption of a motion moved on the floor by Senator Yemi Adaramodu (Ekiti South).

Senator Adaramodu, who testified at Wednesday’s hearing, narrated the sequence of events leading to Natasha being referred to the Ethics committee for grilling.

The Ekiti South senator reiterated that Senator Natasha acted in violation of Order 6 during plenary of February 25 hence the decision to refer her to the committee.

At the time of filing this report at 6pm, the committee had dissolved into a closed door session for further deliberations that would lead to making recommendations to the Senate on the next line of action against Natasha.

Meanwhile, there was an embarrassing twist to the saga earlier, as a seven-member delegation of parliamentarians from the United Kingdom, witnessed Natasha’s submission of sexual harassment petition against Akpabio.

The visiting parliamentarians were at the Senate to observe proceedings of the upper legislative chamber when Senator Natasha stormed the chamber with her petition in hand.

Akpabio, apparently mindful of the presence of the British parliamentarians at the gallery, accepted Natasha’s petition, despite the fact that she violated laid down procedures guiding the submission of petitions.

Many viewed Akpabio’s decision to accept the petition as a tactical move to avoid further embarrassing episodes by the aggrieved Kogi central senator in the presence of the visiting UK parliamentarians.