The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially communicated to the suspended Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan regarding the receipt of a formal request to commence the process of her removal from the National Assembly.
The commission disclosed this information in a statement released by Sam Olumekun, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, this Wednesday in Abuja.
Olumekun further affirmed that, in continuation of the statement issued by INEC on Tuesday, the commission had obtained the contact details of representatives from those petitioning for Natasha’s recall.
He specified that the telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses of these representatives had been furnished to INEC in a correspondence addressed to the commission’s chairman, dated March 26.
“In accordance with Clause 2(a) of the commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a formal notification has been prepared and delivered to the senator in question, at her official place of work, detailing the receipt of the request.
“A duplicate of this notification has also been sent to the presiding officer of the senate and made available for public viewing on the commission’s official website.
“The subsequent phase involves a meticulous examination of the signatory list submitted by the petitioners to confirm that the request is endorsed by more than half (exceeding 50 percent) of the registered voters within the constituency.
“This verification will be carried out over the forthcoming days. The outcome, which will be communicated publicly, will determine the next course of action to be taken by the commission,” he stated. Olumekun reassured the Nigerian public that the recall procedure would be conducted with openness and transparency.
A contingent of registered voters from the Kogi Central Senatorial District had, this Monday, presented a formal request to INEC, urging the commission to initiate the recall process for Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing the said senatorial district.
The constituents, in a letter bearing the signature of the Lead Petitioner, Salihu Habib, and submitted at INEC headquarters in Abuja this Monday, expressed their loss of confidence in Akpoti-Uduaghan as their senator and representative within the National Assembly.
In a related development, INEC had, this Tuesday, confirmed the receipt of the petition, accompanied by six bags of documents purported to contain signatures collected from more than half of the 474,554 registered voters within the senatorial district.
Olumekun stated in a release that the figures were said to be distributed across 902 polling units located within 57 registration areas (wards) throughout the five local government areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene.
He assured the Nigerian populace that the commission would adhere to its established legal framework in processing the recall petition. Olumekun, however, noted that the commission’s initial observation indicated that the representatives of the petitioners had not provided their contact details within the petition’s cover letter.
These omissions, he specified, included their physical addresses, telephone numbers, and electronic mail addresses, all of which are required for contact purposes, as outlined in Clause 1(f) of the commission’s regulations and guidelines.
“The address provided was simply “Okene, Kogi State,” which is not a specific location for contacting the petitioners.
“Only the telephone number of “the lead petitioner” was provided, contrary to the requirement for the contact numbers of all petitioner representatives,” Olumekun had previously stated.
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