INEC picks holes in petition seeking Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall

•Says it fails to comply with regulations, guidelines

•Justice Egwuatu withdraws from aggrieved Senator’s case

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has spotted flaws in the petition seeking the recall of the member representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The Prof Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC stated on Tuesday, after its regular weekly meeting in Abuja, 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.

This, the commission noted, was against the provision of Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines for a recall process.

Some constituents from Kogi Central senatorial district had stormed the INEC headquarters in Abuja on Monday where they submitted a petition for the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, stressing that they have lost confidence in her (Natasha’s) representation.

However, a statement by an INEC National Commissioner and Chairman

Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Sam Olumekun pointed out that some key information were missing in the covering letter to the petition.

According to the statement by Olumekun, “the Commission’s immediate observation is 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 statement by INEC revealed that the

address given was “Okene, Kogi State, which is not a definite location for contacting the petitioners”.

It added that only the telephone number of “the lead petitioner” was provided as against the numbers of all the other representatives of the petitioners.

The statement by Olumekun reads, “The Commission held its regular weekly meeting today (yesterday), Tuesday 25th March 2025. Among other issues, the meeting discussed the petition for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.

“The process of recall is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the Commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, available on our website. All petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework.

“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.

“The Commission’s immediate observation is 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.

“The Commission wishes to reiterate 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.

“Once the petition meets the requirements of submission, as contained in our regulations, 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).

‘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.

“The Commission reassures the public that it will be guided by the legal framework for recall.

“The public should therefore discountenance any speculations and insinuations in the social media”, the statement concluded.