Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, deputy chief whip of the senate, says he will report Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education, to Igbo traditional leaders for asking him to “shut up his mouth” in public.
Nwaebonyi, who represents Ebonyi north, spoke on Monday on ‘Kaakaki’, an AIT breakfast programme.
Nwaebonyi and Ezekwesili had a heated exchange on March 25 at the hearing of the senate committee on ethics, privileges, and public petitions.
The hearing was on a fresh petition from Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Kogi central senator, who has repeatedly accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexually harassing her.
Ezekwesili joined Abiola Akiode, counsel to Akpoti-Uduaghan; and the petitioner, Zubairu Yakubu; at the senate committee hearing as a witness.
Nwaebonyi, who appeared as a witness for Akpabio, repeatedly interrupted the former minister during the hearing.
Ezekwesili then asked the senator to “compose himself and stop making noise” and said “please, will you shut up?” — a remark that instantly provoked an outburst from Nwaebonyi.
Nwaebonyi said the former minister’s public rebuke was “unacceptable”.
“As a person, I can’t talk to my wife like that in public. I can’t talk to my driver like that in public. I can’t talk to any woman like that, I have never done that in my life. I respect women,” he said.
“I am one of the people that has been championing the rights and privileges of women.
“As a legal practitioner, I won so many cases for women that were denied their rights of inheriting their father’s properties because their father had no male child.
“I won so many cases pro bono. The facts are there. If you go to Ebonyi, you would see them.
“I am one of the leaders from the south-east that has a programme for building houses for widows, sponsoring their children in school. I have over 300 of them. All these are to show the respect, and regard, and love I have for women.
“But, for a woman to get up in public, and tell me to shut up my mouth and call me a hooligan, a red cap chief in Igboland that has made his mark…
“I have made my contribution. I stood for election, I had the votes of over 500 people to be in the senate.
“And for somebody who has never won a ward councillorship election to come to my office and tell me to shut up my mouth and call me a hooligan… this is unacceptable.
“I am going to take her up within the Igbo traditional leadership because it has never happened.”
