Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, has addressed the heated exchange between him and former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili, during a Senate Ethics Committee hearing in Abuja.
The confrontation occurred on Tuesday as the committee investigated allegations of sexual harassment involving suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
During the proceedings, tensions escalated when Nwaebonyi and Ezekwesili traded verbal insults. .
The senator referred to Ezekwesili as an “insult to womanhood” and a “hooligan,” after she allegedly told him to “shut up” and called him the same name.
Speaking on Channels Television, Nwaebonyi defended his actions, stating that Ezekwesili provoked him first.
His words: “It started when she was asked to take an oath as a witness, but she refused.
“I said I was willing to be sworn in to give my evidence. Then she turned to me and said, ‘Will you shut up your mouth, you are a hooligan.’”
The senator said he responded in kind, questioning how a former minister and grandmother could insult a sitting lawmaker.
Despite the heated exchange, Nwaebonyi maintained that he had no regrets about his reaction.
“How can I regret the scenario? I gave it to her. Is it fair for her to address me that way?” he asked.
While acknowledging his respect for Ezekwesili as a woman, he insisted that she was wrong to address him in such a manner.