The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially informed the Senate and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan about the amendment made to the recall petition filed by constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District. The amendment corrects previous errors in the contact details of the petitioners’ representatives.
INEC’s notification was confirmed in a statement released by the Commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun. He noted that the revised contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses, had been submitted to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Wednesday.
The update follows concerns raised by INEC on Tuesday, where the Commission noted that the initial petition lacked the necessary contact details required under its 2024 Regulations and Guidelines for Recall.
With the issue now resolved, INEC has officially written to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, informing her about the recall petition. The letter was also copied to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and made available on the Commission’s website.
The statement further noted that the next stage in the recall process would involve verifying the petition’s legitimacy. INEC will assess whether more than 50 percent of registered voters in Kogi Central have signed the petition. The outcome of this verification will determine the next steps in the process, which will be announced in the coming days.
“We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent,” the statement read.
The recall petition was submitted on Monday at INEC’s headquarters in Abuja by Charity Ijese on behalf of the constituents. It was received and stamped by INEC’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony.
The petition comes amid political tensions surrounding Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate on March 6 for alleged “gross misconduct” following a dispute with Senate President Akpabio. The constituents claim that over 200,000 registered voters, which they say is more than half of the district’s electorate, have signed the petition demanding her removal.
Titled “Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,” the document accuses the senator of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceitful behavior.
In their submission, the constituents declared, “We, the undersigned, being duly registered voters of the Kogi Central Senatorial District, hereby invoke our rights under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to formally demand the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Nigerian Senate.”
