The #FixPolitics group has condemned Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate, over his outburst against former World Bank Vice President, Co-Founder of Transparency International, and Chairperson of Women Political Leaders, Obiageli Ezekwesili.
The group also formally submitted a petition to the Nigerian Senate, demanding that the lawmaker be appropriately sanctioned and compelled to tender an apology.
In a formal complaint to the Chairman of the Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee, Neda Imasuen, the Executive Director of #FixPolitics, Anthony Ubani, described Nwaebonyi’s conduct during a Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee session as unruly, disruptive, and disrespectful, particularly in his engagement with Ezekwesili.
Ubani said, “Having obtained and reviewed the video of the proceedings, we take the view that Senator Nwaebonyi’s behavior was most unbecoming of a Legislator.
“His persistent lack of restraint and disregard for both his presiding colleagues and other participants gravely compromised the atmosphere of decorum that should have prevailed during the session and undermined the ethical standards that ought to underpin the conduct of business in Nigeria’s Senate.
“While we acknowledge that witnesses appearing before the committee should allow presiding officers to manage the proceedings, it became evident that Ezekwesili and her colleagues were compelled to assert their right to speak due to the difficulty presiding officers seemed to have in adequately protecting them from verbal hostility.”
During a heated exchange at the investigative committee’s hearing on Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition against the Senate President, the lawmaker from Ebonyi State was heard using unprintable words against Ezekwesili.
While acknowledging that being asked to “shut up” might have been perceived as offensive by Nwaebonyi, #FixPolitics firmly maintains that it was in no way sufficient to justify the vitriolic and deeply personal aspersions he cast on Ezekwesili.
The group lamented, “His words were not merely inappropriate but a blatant and most distasteful affront to the principles of civil discourse and respect that should govern parliamentary engagements.
“It is imperative that legislators and public officials remain mindful that they are public servants. They are neither superior to the citizens they serve nor are they exempt from the common principles of accountability and respect.
“The troubling pattern of conduct displayed in recent weeks by some members of the legislature calls into question their understanding of the fundamental relationship between elected representatives and the public.”
#FixPolitics further acknowledged the importance of maintaining decorum in public discourse but emphasized that no citizen—regardless of gender, age, or social status—should be subjected to the kind of verbal assault Nwaebonyi directed at Ezekwesili.
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