Natasha Akpoti - A Profile By Susannah Oluwaseun

Early Life and Education

Natasha was raised in Kogi State, Nigeria by her Nigerian father and Ukrainian mother. In 1998, she started studying at the University of Abuja to obtain her Bachelor of Laws. She attended the Nigerian Law School in 2004 and was called to the Nigerian Bar a year later. In 2012, she obtained a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Dundee.

Social Entrepreneurship

While Natasha started her career practicing law, she later turned to social entrepreneurship. She founded the Builders Hub Impact Investment Program with her brother, Felix Akpoti, an organization focused on social entrepreneurship. The Builders Hub has collaborated with and provided consultancy services to several notable organizations, including the Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. Natasha also acted as the CEO of the LegandArk Group; another organization dedicated to social entrepreneurship.

Natasha’s Election to the Nigerian Senate

Nigeria’s legislative branch (referred to as the National Assembly of Nigeria) consists of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Nigerian Senate has 109 seats and is led by a Senate President and Deputy President. Both the Senate President and Deputy President are elected by the members of the Senate.

The results of the 2023 Nigerian Senate election were announced in February 2023. However, Natasha was only declared the winner of the election in Kogi Central in October 2023. Her opponent, Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere, was initially declared the victor in Kogi Central, receiving 52, 132 votes compared to Natasha’s 51, 763 votes. After Natasha took legal action to challenge the vote, the Court of Appeal found that Abubakar’s results were inflated at nine polling units while Natasha’s votes were either reduced or omitted at those polling units. After making the necessary corrections, Natasha was declared the winner of the Senate Election in Kogi Central - with 54, 074 votes compared to Abubakar’s 51, 291 votes.

Natasha is Kogi Central’s first female Senator. She is one of four female senators in the Nigerian Senate.

The Nigerian Senate

On 28 February 2025, Natasha appeared on Arise News ‘The Morning Show’. The interview was spurred by Natasha’s defamation claim brought against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate President’s senior aide. The claim alleges that defamatory statements were made about Natasha thinking that being a lawmaker was about “pancaking her face and wearing transparent outfits to the chambers”. The interview delved into the tense relationship between Natasha and the Senate President.

Natasha revealed that she had faced several instances of sexual harassment from the Senate President - with the first incident taking place in December 2023.

It was also alleged that the Senate President suggested that Natasha could “enjoy a whole lot” as a senator if she “[took] care of him and [made] him happy”. Natasha likened her struggles in the Nigerian Senate to being a university student who keeps being failed because they refuse to sleep with their lecturer (a situation that is not uncommon in Nigerian universities). Natasha also shared other details of her experience in the Nigerian Senate.

 Natasha filed a petition to the Senate concerning the alleged sexual harassment. The following day, the ethics committee (the body in charge of investigating the petition) dismissed Natasha’s petition on procedural grounds. Natasha was subsequently suspended for six months. As a result of the suspension, Natasha has been ordered to hand over all her Senate properties and to remain away from the vicinity of the National Assembly. Her salary and allowances, and those of her legislative aides, have been suspended. Natasha is also not allowed to hold herself out as to be a Nigerian Senator during the suspension period.

The Nigerian Senate claimed that the suspension was because of Natasha’s refusal to move to her newly allocated seat in the Senate on 20 February 2025. Natasha’s behaviour was described as “unethical and unbecoming of a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by refusing to uphold the moral sanctity of the Senate and the hollowed chamber”. Natasha believes that her suspension is to silence her.

What Next?

Natasha’s difficulties in the Nigerian Senate are far from over. Several legal battles have ensued since Natasha’s suspension, and a petition has been started to recall Natasha as a Senator. On 15 April, gunmen attacked Natasha’s family residence in the Okehi Local Government Area. Fortunately, no one was present and there were no casualties. Natasha’s team described this as yet another attempt to silence her.

Natasha is a remarkable individual and one of very few women at this level of Nigerian politics. Her decision to speak out about the alleged sexual harassment is a rare sight in Nigerian politics. Both her journey to and experience in the Nigerian Senate spark important conversations about abuse of power, women in politics, the rule of law, justice and much more. For many, these themes are familiar as they permeate most, if not all, parts of today’s society. Natasha story is one to observe closely in the coming months, and will likely be spoken of for years to come

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