Former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili has defended her heated exchange with Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi

The clash occurred on Tuesday 25th of March, as the committee deliberated on a fresh petition from Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the suspended senator representing Kogi Central.

The disagreement escalated when Ezekwesili told Nwaebonyi, the deputy chief whip of the Senate, to “compose himself and stop making noise,” which was later reported as an instruction to “shut up” in some accounts. Speaking on Arise TV after the altercation, she explained that the panel had ruled the case sub judice due to ongoing court proceedings. However, she took issue with the conduct of the hearing, particularly the role Nwaebonyi played in the discussions.

“The petitioner had insisted that he would not proceed with his main petition until he received assurances regarding the two objections he had raised,” Ezekwesili said. “However, the panel interpreted this stance as a sign that we were not ready to engage in the matter.”

She added that the committee cited two related court cases, one involving the wife of the Senate President, as a reason to halt proceedings. This led to questions about why the hearing was held at all.

“At that point, Dr. Abiola questioned the very basis for convening the jury. While all of this was unfolding, a certain senator—whom I will not acknowledge by name—spoke up,” she said, referring to Nwaebonyi.

“He declared that since we were unwilling to provide any testimony, he was present as a representative of the Senate President, who was the respondent, and that he was prepared to speak because, in his view, we could not continue in this manner.”

Ezekwesili said she found it unfair that Nwaebonyi was allowed to speak freely when others had been prevented from doing so.

“In response, I said to him, ‘Can you please shut up?’” she recounted. “Because we had just been informed that we were not allowed to speak, yet he was doing so freely without any form of an equivalent treatment.”

She added that her reaction further angered Nwaebonyi, who was already agitated. “He was already provoked; his anger stemmed from the belief that we were not taking the matter seriously,” she said.

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Ezekwesili described the senator’s response as reflective of the “indecorous behavior” exhibited by some public officials.

In response, Nwaebonyi criticized the former minister for first calling him a “hooligan” and ordering a sitting senator to “shut up.” Despite the incident, he maintained that he had no regrets about his conduct and still respected Ezekwesili as a woman.