Senate President Godswill Akpabio has kicked against allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
He made this known on Wednesday during plenary after a one week recess.
According to him, he has never harassed any woman.
He said his late single mother instilled in him a deep respect for women. He bragged he was once hailed as the most gender friendly governor in Nigeria.
The Senate President said he has been receiving calls on this since 25th February. He also said he is aware of the trending issues on social media.
He advised Nigerians and the media to stop drawing conclusion and wait for the court to determine.
After his remarks, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a petition under Order 40. She accused him of sexual harassment and abuse of office.
This has generated a lot of public debate and brought to the fore issues of accountability in leadership.
Other instances of this have raised questions on ethical standard in governance and are being monitored by organisations committed to human right and transparency in public office.
Academic research and studies on political accountability provides more context to this issue, how alleged misconduct should be dealt with through robust legal process.
The situation is still unfolding as the case is in court and public opinion is divided.