‘She asked for it and I gave it to her,’ Nwaebonyi defends attack on Ezekwesili

The senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, has insisted that he has no regret insulting a former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, during a heated altercation at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The clash between the two which many Nigerians have described as a show of shame, occurred during a hearing by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions set up to deliberate on a petition filled by suspended Kogi Central lawmaker, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

During the proceedings, Nwaebonyi and Ezekwesili got into a heated war of words where they exchanged derogatory remarks at each other.

The senator during the exchange referred to the former minister as a hooligan and an insult to womanhood.

READ ALSO: Ezekwesili defends heated Senate exchange, highlights challenges women face in society

In the heat of the altercation, Nwaebonyi said:

“You are the hooligan. For a mother like you, a grandmother of your age, a former minister of the Federal Republic to tell a sitting senator to shut up and call him a hooligan, that’s unacceptable.”

But while defending himself in an interview on Wednesday, Nwaebonyi said he has no regrets attacking Ezekwesili as she had instigated the confrontation by telling him to shut up despite his position as a senator.

He said: “It started when she was asked to take an oath because she said she was a witness. She refused, saying she couldn’t be placed under oath. As I was addressing the presiding officer, she turned to me and said, ‘Will you shut up your mouth? You are a hooligan.”

When asked if he regretted the altercation, Nwaebonyi stated categorically: “How can I regret the scenario? I gave it to her. Is it fair for her to address me that way? As a former minister and a grandmother, ask her first.”

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