The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has discovered some fundamental flaws in the petition filed by some members of Kogi Central Senatorial Zone requesting to recall ikts representative, Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The commission said in a statement by its national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, Mr Sam Olumeku that the sponsors of the project failed to comply with the recall guidelines.
He said 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.
He said 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 reads in part: “The commission held its regular weekly meeting today (Tuesday). 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.”
Recall that some voters in the constituency under the umbrella of ‘Concerned Kogi Youth and Women’ submitted a petition had to the commission at its headquarters in Abuja requesting Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall.
The petition, entitled, ‘Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,’ called for her removal due to accusations of gross misconduct, abuse of office and a pattern of deceit.
The group said in the petition that they had lost confidence in the senator and, therefore, asked INEC to commence the process of recalling her.
