Victor EzejaThe Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the petitions submitted for the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan representing Kogi Central District lack credibility and do not meet the basic requirements to be accepted.
INEC said it came to this conclusion after reviewing signatures of the purported constituents seeking the recall of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe electoral body explained that the process of recall of a lawmaker is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, as well as the Commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, stressing that all petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework.
In a statement released after its weekly meeting on Tuesday, 25 March 2025, INEC highlighted that the recall of a legislator is the right of registered voters in a constituency, but such an exercise must be done in strict adherence to the laid down procedures.
The Commission confirmed that it received six bags of documents said to be signatures collected from over half of the 474,554 registered voters spread across 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas (Wards) in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene.
The electoral body, however, said it observed that the representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines.
“The address given is “Okene, Kogi State”, which is not a definite location for contacting the petitioners. Only the telephone number of “the lead petitioner” is provided as against the numbers of all the other representatives of the petitioners,” part of the statement signed by Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee read.
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The statement clarified that in line with the guidelines, once the petition meets the requirements of submission, the next phase is for INEC to “commence the verification of the signatures in each Polling Unit in an open process restricted to registered voters that signed the petition only.
“The petitioners and the member whose recall is sought shall be at liberty to nominate agents to observe the verification, while interested observers and the media will also be accredited.”
It further stated that at each Polling Unit, signatories to the petition shall be verified using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“Consequently, if the petitioners fully comply with the requirements of Clause 1(f) of the Regulations and Guidelines regarding the submission of their petition, the Commission will announce the next steps in line with the extant laws, regulations and guidelines. In the absence of a definite contact address, the Commission is making efforts to use other means to notify the representatives of the petitioners of the situation.”
While reassuring the public that it will be guided by the legal framework for recall, INEC urged the public disregard any speculations and insinuations in the social media.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
