Senator Natasha Apoti NI00 Billion and Akpapio’s wife Ekaette Akpapio trade in N350 Billion suit: A delusional
By Prof Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies
The recent lawsuit filed by Ekaette Akpabio, wife of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has raised eyebrows across the nation. The N350 billion suit filed by Ekaette Akpabio, for alleged defamation and rights violation stemming from statements made by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan during a televised interview is staggering and delusional.
While one wonders if the lawsuit itself is a serious matter, the amount in question is unreasonably high, unbelievably staggering and undauntedly disturbing. One feels it’s potentially driven by unrealistic expectations or a distorted sense of entitlement. N350 billion is a sum that could potentially fund numerous vital infrastructure projects or social programs, yet it’s being sought as damages for alleged defamation. This raises questions about their credibility, the proportionality of the claim and whether it’s truly in the public interest.
It’s also worth noting that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan first filed a separate lawsuit against Senate President Akpabio and his aide, seeking N100 billion in damages for alleged defamation. The lawsuit development suggests concerns about the the amount of monies available to the ruling class and politicians and the prevalent level of corruption in the Nigerian society especially amongst them.
The truth be told, while one wonders whether the lawsuit filed by Mrs Ekaette Akpabio against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the lawsuit filed against Senate President Akpabio by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan are serious matters, the amount in question is annoying, disturbing, incredible and needs some analysis!!!
LETS LOOK AT A BILLION NAIRA
A billion is a numerical value representing one thousand millions (1,000,000,000). I mean one thousand millions (1,000,000,000). It’s a very large quantity, often used to express enormous numbers such as in finance, for instance, a billion dollars, euros, Naira or in other currencies can buy around 2,000 average-priced houses in the United States. 0r in population, a billion people, roughly 1/7 of the world’s population.
NOW, LET US TAKE A LOOK AT 300-350 BILLION NAIRA
To determine the worth of 300 billion Naira, we’ll convert it to other currencies and provide some context using the March 2025 current exchange rates:
– 300 billion Naira (NGN) is approximately:
USD (United States Dollar)
Using the exchange rate (1 USD = 1516.91 NGN), we get:
300,000,000,000 NGN ÷ 1516.91 NGN/USD ≈ 197,959,919 USD
EUR (European Euro)
Using the exchange rate (1 EUR = 1674.22 NGN), we get:
300,000,000,000 NGN ÷ 1674.22 NGN/EUR ≈ 179,193,011 EUR
GBP (British Pound)
Using the exchange rate (1 GBP = 1986.41 NGN), we get:
300,000,000,000 NGN ÷ 1986.41 NGN/GBP ≈ 151,051,051 GBP
Again, to put this amount into perspective: 300 billion Naira is roughly equivalent to: 1.5% of Nigeria’s 2022 GDP (estimated at 20.3 trillion Naira) – The annual budget of a small to medium-sized country.
Thus the demands for N100 billion by Senator Natasha Apoti and N350 billion by Ekaette Akpapio adding up to N350 billion are grossly excessive, extravagant and delusional. These amounts are not only staggering but also raise serious questions about the proportionality of funds available to them.
The total amounts of N350 billion in question are equivalent to the annual budgets of small to medium-sized countries or could fund numerous vital infrastructure projects or social programs. It’s unfathomable that such enormous sums could come to their minds, get written on their legal documents as being sought as damages for ordinary alleged defamation in times of complete economic down-tone in Nigeria. I am afraid, Nigeria is really, really, really in trouble!!!
Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, a Nigerian former female Presidential Candidate is a Professor of Applied Linguistics, a Political Analyst and a Public Commentator.
