Petitioners seeking to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central have now provided the required contact details of their representatives, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed.
Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this known in a statement issued on Wednesday.
He said that a formal letter containing the telephone numbers, email addresses, and other contact details of the petitioners’ representatives was submitted to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Wednesday.
The development follows INEC’s earlier announcement on Tuesday, where it noted that the petitioners had failed to provide the mandatory contact information, such as addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, as required by the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
I Olumekun confirmed that the commission has also formally notified Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan of the recall petition filed against her.
The notification letter was dispatched to her official address, copied to the presiding officer of the Senate, and has also been made publicly accessible on the INEC website,Olumekun said in the statement.
Olumekun further stated that the next phase of the recall process will focus on verifying the signatures submitted by the petitioners.
According to INEC, this verification exercise is crucial to determining whether the petition meets the legal threshold, more than 50 percent of registered voters in Kogi Central must have endorsed it for the process to proceed.
The electoral body assured the public that this stage will be handled with utmost transparency and diligence.
“As stipulated in our guidelines, the commission will now carefully scrutinise the list of signatories attached to the petition. Our aim is to confirm that more than half of the registered voters in the constituency have signed in support of the recall,” Olumekun stated.
“The verification results will be made public, and they will inform our next course of action in line with the law.”
INEC also reiterated its commitment to ensuring a fair and transparent recall process, adding that updates will be communicated to the public in due course.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall petition stems from a series of controversies, including her suspension from the Senate on March 6 over alleged “gross misconduct” following a disagreement with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The petition, titled “Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,” accuses her of misconduct, abuse of office, and a pattern of deceptive actions.
Olumekun further stated that the next phase of the recall process will focus on verifying the signatures submitted by the petitioners.
According to INEC, this verification exercise is crucial to determining whether the petition meets the legal threshold, more than 50 percent of registered voters in Kogi Central must have endorsed it for the process to proceed.
The electoral body assured the public that this stage will be handled with utmost transparency and diligence.
“As stipulated in our guidelines, the commission will now carefully scrutinise the list of signatories attached to the petition. Our aim is to confirm that more than half of the registered voters in the constituency have signed in support of the recall,” Olumekun stated.
“The verification results will be made public, and they will inform our next course of action in line with the law.”
INEC also reiterated its commitment to ensuring a fair and transparent recall process, adding that updates will be communicated to the public in due course.
