I Don’t Regret Insulting Oby Ezekwesili – Senator Nwaebonyi Insist

Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, the lawmaker representing Ebonyi North Senatorial District, has defended his verbal altercation with former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, during a heated exchange at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The clash, occurred during a hearing by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, which was deliberating on a petition by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

During the proceedings, tensions flared when Nwaebonyi was heard hurling derogatory remarks at Ezekwesili, referring to her as an “insult to womanhood” and a “hooligan.”

However, in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday evening, Nwaebonyi claimed that Ezekwesili had instigated the confrontation by calling him a hooligan and telling him to “shut up” despite his position as a senator.

“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,’” Nwaebonyi said.

He insisted that his response was justified, adding that he had no regrets about the incident.

“You are the hooligan,” he said he told Ezekwesili. “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.”

Asked whether he regretted the altercation, Nwaebonyi was resolute: “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.”

The dramatic encounter has generated global reactions, with some condemning the senator’s remarks as inappropriate.