Yemi Obafemi
Suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has dismissed allegations made against her by UK-based Nigerian businesswoman Sandra Duru, popularly known as Prof Mgbeke, describing them as false and a calculated attempt to advance Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s agenda.
During a Facebook livestream on Thursday evening, Sandra Duru alleged that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan falsely accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment and claimed the senator tried to enlist her in a media smear campaign against Akpabio by offering large amounts of money in both naira and US dollars.
Sandra Duru, who leveled multiple allegations, claimed that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s ultimate objective was to unseat Senate President Godswill Akpabio as part of a broader strategy to politically undermine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by removing one of his key allies in the National Assembly. To back her claims, Duru played several audio recordings during the livestream, which she said were phone conversations between her and the senator.
In a statement on Friday, Senator Natasha dismissed the allegation saying: “I have carefully watched a livestream done by one Sandra C. Duru on Facebook, on May 1, 2025. The content of the livestream, including the voice attributed to me, is entirely untrue and has been manipulated to serve Sandra Duru’s ulterior motive of executing Senator Godswill Akpabio’s script,” Natasha said.
“To the best of my knowledge, those words are false and did not arise from any legitimate interaction involving me. I also recently discovered that the individual now identifying as Sandra Duru previously operated under the name Prof. Mgbeke on Facebook.”
The Senator indicated that she would address the “unfounded allegations” in greater detail at a later time.
