By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini
In a biting and satirical letter that has quickly ignited debate across Nigeria’s political landscape, Senator Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan has issued a mock apology to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, accusing him—without directly naming him—of promoting a culture of entitlement, favoritism, and personal gratification within the National Assembly.
The letter, which begins with exaggerated expressions of “theatrical regret,” ridicules what the senator describes as a system where “legislative success… is apparently not earned through merit, but through the ancient art of compliance — of the very personal kind.”
Her words appear to take aim at alleged improper advances and a patriarchal power structure within the Senate.
“I must apologize for prioritizing competence over capitulation, vision over vanity, and the people’s mandate over private dinners behind closed doors,” she wrote, drawing sharp applause from supporters online and condemnation from some quarters within the political class.
In her sarcastic reflection on the consequences of her so-called defiance, she writes of “egos so large they require their own postcodes,” and ends the letter with a searing line: “Please find it in your magnanimous heart — somewhere buried deep beneath layers of entitlement — to forgive this stubborn woman who mistakenly believed that her seat in the Senate was earned through elections, not erections.”
The statement, signed “Unafraid, Unbought, and Unbroken,” has been widely interpreted as a challenge to misogyny in Nigeria’s political system, with many calling it a rare act of public defiance against powerful male figures in government.
No official response has yet been issued by the office of Senate President Godswill Akpabio at the time of this report.