The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the petition seeking to recall the representative of Kogi Central in the senate, Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying the request does not meet the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as expressly stated in Section 69(a).
The commission said in a statement that the decision to dismiss the petition was reached at its regular weekly meeting today, Thursday, April 3, 2025.
It said the meeting considered and approved the report of its physical count of the signatures/thumbprints forwarded with the petition for the senator in line with Clause 2(b) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
The commission explained that a petition for the recall of a senator must comply with the provisions of the constitution but stated that the request for the recall of Akpoti-Uduaghan fell short of the basic constitutional requirement.
The commission said the total number of registered voters in the Kogi Central Senatorial District is 474,554.
“More than one-half of this figure (i.e., 50%+1) is 237,277+1, which is at least 237,278 voters.
“Across the 902 polling units in 57 registration areas and five local government areas that make up the senatorial district, the commission ascertained 208,132 signatures/thumbprints from the submission made by the petitioners. This translates to 43.86% of the registered voters, which falls short of the constitutional requirement by 29,146 signatories.
“Consequently, the petition has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution. Therefore, no further action shall be taken on the recall of the senator.
“In line with the provision of Clause 2(d) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, the commission has issued a public notice to that effect which is also copied to the presiding officer of the senate,’ INEC said.
The commission said it was meticulous in its analysis of the petition in line with its earlier promise of ensuring fairness to the parties involved in the handling of the matter, and in line with the provisions of the constitution and its regulations and guidelines.
“First, we ensured that the petitioners complied with the requirements for the submission of the petition.
“Secondly, we notified the member sought to be recalled in writing, copied the presiding officer of the Senate and simultaneously published the notice on our website.
“Thirdly, we informed Nigerians that the next step would be to carefully ascertain the number of signatures/thumbprints to ensure that the petition complies with the requirements of the law. This exercise has now been completed,” INEC said.
