…dispels spiritual cleansing rumour
The wife of the President of the Senate, Mrs Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, on Saturday explained that her recent visit to the National Assembly was to inspect malfunctioning installations and had nothing to do with any spiritual cleansing.
She said the visit, which took place on a Saturday, was at the directive of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The Special Adviser to the Senate President on Diaspora and NGOs, Dr Jibril Tafida, made the clarification in a statement in Abuja.
He said a claim by an online publication that Mrs Akpabio had an “unholy access” to the Senate chamber was false.
Tafida explained that the visit followed complaints by senators and staff about poor facilities and shoddy work done by contractors, adding that it was undertaken at the instance of the Senate President.
He dismissed claims that Mrs Akpabio came with “marabouts” and persons of questionable character, saying the people who accompanied her were engineers and technicians.
According to him, the team comprised electrical, ICT, audio-visual and building maintenance experts who were brought in to assess the faults and determine the state of the facilities.
“Relevant officials were aware of the visit and no security protocol was breached,” he said.
Tafida added that Saturday was deliberately chosen for the inspection so as not to disrupt plenary or other legislative activities.
He described the media report as misinformation and speculative journalism aimed at creating controversy where there was none.
He urged the public to disregard the report and called on Naijanewsdirect and other platforms to check their facts before publishing stories that attack public officers and their families.
Tafida stated that Mrs Akpabio was known for her philanthropy and integrity, while the Senate President remained focused on his legislative duties and would not be distracted by unfounded allegations.
“The National Assembly remains secure and well managed,” he added.
