The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified errors in the petition seeking the recall of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central.
The petition was received on Monday, March 24, and deliberated upon during INEC’s regular weekly meeting on Tuesday.
According to a statement issued by Sam Olumekun, the national commissioner and chairman, of the Information and Voter Education Committee, “The petition from Kogi Central Senatorial District was accompanied by 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.”
INEC, however, noted that the petitioners failed to provide a definite contact address, telephone numbers, and email addresses in their covering letter as required by Clause 1(f) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
“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,” the statement added.
The commission emphasized that “the recall of a legislator is the prerogative of registered voters in a constituency who sign a petition indicating loss of confidence in the legislator representing them.”
It assured that once a petition meets all submission requirements, “the Commission shall 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. At each polling unit, signatories to the petition shall be verified using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).”
INEC stated that it is making efforts to reach the petitioners through alternative means to address the identified deficiencies in their submission.
“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,” the statement read.
The commission reiterated its commitment to upholding due process, urging the public to “discountenance any speculations and insinuations in the social media.”
The recall process, as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the Commission’s guidelines, requires a series of steps, including the verification of signatures and a referendum where the majority of registered voters in the constituency must support the recall for it to succeed.
The recall process follows the recent suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan by the Senate. She was suspended on allegations of misconduct and breach of legislative ethics, which sparked controversy within the political sphere.
