A mild drama ensued at the Renewed Hope Initiative empowerment programme venue in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, as a group of women staged a walkout while the event was ongoing.

The programme, held on Friday, May 2, 2025, was hosted by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in partnership with the office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About 500 women were billed to receive empowerment items at the occasion

However, the event suffered a brief disruption when the Wife of the Rivers State Administrator, Theresa Ibas, was invited to deliver a speech.

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Rising in protest, a group of aggrieved women staged a walk while chanting, “Bring back Fubara, we don’t know Ibas.”

The protesters demanded the reinstatement of suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara, so that his wife, Valerie, could address them. They insisted that the suspended governor’s wife should address them rather than Ibas’s wife.

Though the protesters continued their agitation outside the venue, the programme proceeded unhindered indoors, with the administrator’s wife delivering the speech on behalf of the First Lady.

Tinubu said the scheme has already been completed in the North Central zone, with the Rivers State event marking its conclusion in the South-South region.

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According to her, the initiative was part of a broader national programme targeting 18,500 women across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Beneficiaries received items such as freezers, gas cookers with ovens, grinding machines, and generators.

“These tools are designed to help our women establish and grow successful businesses, contributing to the nation’s prosperity.

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“This program reflects the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which prioritizes inclusivity, economic growth, and sustainable development—particularly for women,” the First Lady said.

Senator Shehu Sani has warned that freedom of Speech is no longer free.  In a post shared on Facebook, Sani advised Nigerians who are in the habit of sharing their opinions, to make sure they keep some money to pay their lawyers in case they get sued over what they said or posted on their social media account.  He mentioned that even when a lawyer claims to be working for free, they end up asking for money for fuel or money to purchase of call credit.  Read what he wrote on Facebook below The post Always keep some money to pay your lawyer in case you are sued over what you say or posted on your social media account- Senator Shehu Sani warns appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central District, has been accused of a plot to frame Senate President Godswill Akpabio for sexual harassment and organ trafficking allegations.

This is according to a United States-based activist, Dr. Sandra Duru, also known as Professor Mgbeke, who posted evidence of phone conversations between her and the suspended lawmaker on social media.

Speaking during a Facebook Live session on Thursday, April 1, 2025, Professor Mgbeke disclosed that she has forwarded evidence of Natasha’s alleged plot against Akpabio to authorities in the US and other parts of the world for forensic analysis and investigation.

While displaying some of the said evidence, the activist said the conversations exposed the hitherto mysterious motive behind the sexual harassment allegation levelled against Akpabio by the Kogi Senator.

ALSO READ: Natasha fires back at Agbakoba over Akpabio’s sexual harassment allegation retraction demand

She showed call logs and conversations to counter Natasha’s claim that she had never spoken to her before.

Duru further claimed that, after realising that her sexual harassment allegation wasn’t getting anywhere, Natasha offered her N200m to accuse the Senate President of organ harvesting, linking him with the death of a young girl who passed a few years ago.

She called on international security agencies whom she had petitioned, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), to investigate Natasha’s allegations to ascertain what she knows about the murder of Umoren, having kept mute on the matter for years.

The journalist-cum-activist further alleged that the Kogi lawmaker was out to destroy men, adding that Natasha had revealed she had no evidence to prove sexual harassment against Akpabio.

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“One, there is no sexual harassment of any kind; two, there is no evidence of organ harvesting. I told Natasha, you are a pathological liar, you have disgraced us, Nigerians. She said Nigerians were G and H – ‘Gullible and Hungry’ and you want to add to their problems?” Professor Mgbeke said in the one-hour, eight-minute broadcast.

“I told her to make peace with the Senate members, but she insisted that they want to destroy the Yoruba government. I don’t know what she meant by that.

“A lawyer that is very lousy and careless in her utterances. Natasha is not teachable, Natasha lacks humility, Natasha lacks moral values, she doesn’t care. If it doesn’t go Natasha’s way, you are her enemy. Natasha is on a mission to destroy men… I cannot watch her destroy our men, I cannot watch her destroy our sons, I cannot watch her destroy our girls who are following her blindly. She called Dr Oby Ezekwesili a useful idiot.”

Following a spat over the seating arrangement in the Senate, Natasha accused Akpabio of making sexual advances at her, adding that her ordeal in the red chamber started after she turned down the advances.

However, the Senate President has repeatedly denied the accusation, and both parties are currently in court to argue their case.

“The Nigerian Police should handle the case of Natasha and her false allegations. She said she wants to force the Senate President to step down so that they will have their way to remove what they call Yoruba government,” Professor Mgbeke continued.

“Umoren died in 2021. An autopsy was done, and there was no organ harvesting.

ALSO READ: Hold Akpabio, Bello, Ododo responsible – Natasha reacts after attack on family home

“I already wrote to the international agencies about a senator who claimed to have known something about the murder of a young lady, and she kept it to herself. She must explain what she knows about the death.

“She said the reason for the fight was not really about the Senate President but it is about the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that they don’t want Yoruba government to go beyond four years. She said no sexual harassment evidence of any kind.”

The US-based journalist said that during one of their conversations, Natasha revealed that she had been promised the governorship of Kogi State or the Minister of Petroleum Resources if she could accomplish the mission of getting the Senate President out.

As of the time of this report, Natasha has yet to respond to Mgbeke’s allegations.