The Senate Ethics Committee hearing in Abuja took an unexpected turn on Tuesday as Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, representing Ebonyi North, engaged in a heated exchange with former Education Minister, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili.
The session, meant to investigate sexual harassment allegations involving suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, quickly spiraled into a verbal clash.
Tensions peaked when Nwebonyi, visibly agitated, referred to Ezekwesili as an “insult to womanhood” and a “hooligan.” His remarks came after an earlier exchange in which he claimed the former minister had first insulted him.
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Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television program, Nwebonyi defended his outburst, insisting he had merely responded in kind.
“It started when she was asked to take an oath as a witness. She refused. I stated my willingness to be sworn in and provide evidence. While I was addressing the presiding officer, she turned to me and said, ‘Will you shut up your mouth? You are a hooligan,’” he recounted.
The senator maintained that his reaction was justified. “For a grandmother, a former minister of the Federal Republic, to tell a sitting senator to shut up and call him a hooligan—how is that fair?” he questioned.
Despite the controversy, Nwebonyi expressed no regrets. “I respect her as a woman, but I gave it back to her,” he said firmly. “How can I regret the scenario? Ask her first if her conduct was fair.”