The senator representing Kogi Central, Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of aiding her constituents to perfect her recall from the senate.
She made the allegation yesterday while addressing a crowd in Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State, against all the security concerns raised and ban on public gatherings and rallies announced by the Kogi State government.
Recall that her home-coming was a security issue as the state police command had asked her to suspend her planned Eid-el-Fitr celebration rally in the senatorial district “following the intelligence report on security threats in Kogi State.”
Earlier, the chairman of Okehi council area, Mr Amoka Monday, had imposed a curfew across the council area “with immediate effect” and warned that “anyone found loitering or assembling in restricted zones without clearance from the relevant authorities will be arrested and prosecuted.”
Responding via her facebook page, the suspended senator alleged that any violence during the event should be blamed on the senate president, Mr Godswill Akpabio, the governor of Kogi State, Mr Usman Ododo and the former governor of the state, Mr Yahaya Bello.
“My dear people of Kogi Central, I look forward to our peaceful Sallah celebrations today (yesterday).
“However, should we be met with or infiltrated by violence, Nigerians should hold Governor Ododo, Yahaya Bello and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, wholly responsible,” she wrote.
Addressing her supporters yesterday, the senator who arrived in a chopper told the gathering in Ebira language that “nobody and nothing can stop me from coming home” stressing that as “an Ebira person, this is my land…I know my roots…”
On her recall from the senate, she told the crowd that “INEC doing was aiding and guiding petitioners on how to perfect their illicit recall act.”
“The first time the petition was submitted, they didn’t have address and phone numbers, so INEC went out to guide them on how to submit information that will perfect their petition.
“What did they do? The petitioners, who were from the other party, the APC, submitted a letterhead. What was the name on it? Kogi Central Political Frontier and the address there was number 4, Oboroke,” she said.
The suspended senator said the address was made up adding that the Kogi Central Political Frontier which is the arrowhead of her recall does not exist.
She said she ran a check on the organisation “but the CAC report came negative, that the association is not registered.”
Continuing, she said: ‘So, I’m still waiting and wondering why INEC has not yet made a statement to that effect or sent people down to Oboroke here, which is just five minutes away, to ascertain whether that address is real.
“Or have we stooped to the point whereby fictitious, non-existing associations and individuals can call for the recall of a senator? Are we in a kangaroo country? We should not allow that.
“I don’t know whether the process will be stalled but we are in courts as well. Also, I don’t know when they will come down here to verify.
“But I will say this, if the time ever comes for the verification of the 250,000 people that signed for my recall, I trust that you will do right.”
Reacting to the suspended senator’s visit, yesterday, Kogi State government accused her of inciting chaos in the state.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State government has said that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegation that Akpabio, Bello and Ododo were after her life “is reckless, malicious and utterly false.”
“This is yet another desperate and calculated attempt by her to mislead the public, incite unrest, and present herself as a victim, after deliberately violating the ban on political gatherings imposed by the state government to maintain law and order,” the state commissioner for information and communication, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo said in a statement.
He added that “Akpoti-Uduaghan has consistently demonstrated a pattern of lawlessness, using lies and deceit as her tools of political engagement.
The recent disturbances in Kogi State, orchestrated by her defiance of the state’s security directives, have further confirmed her status as a security threat to the people of the state.
“She deliberately violated the state government’s ban on political gatherings, which was put in place to prevent security breaches and maintain peace. Instead of respecting the law, she chose to incite chaos, disregarding the safety and stability of the state.
“When confronted with the consequences of her actions, she resorted to her usual tactics of playing the victim and fabricating baseless accusations against respected leaders of the state and the nation,” he added.
