By Ayo Kehinde
The Independent National Electoral Commission has dismissed speculations surrounding the recall process of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, stating that the commission will strictly adhere to legal provisions in handling the petition.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, made this known in a statement on Tuesday.
On Monday, INEC received a petition from registered voters in Kogi Central Senatorial District seeking the recall of Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Senate.
According to the electoral body, the petition was submitted with six bags of documents, purportedly containing signatures from over half of the 474,554 registered voters across 902 polling units in 57 registration areas (wards) within the five local government areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi, and Okene.
However, INEC raised concerns over the lack of proper contact details for the petitioners, noting that the covering letter only indicated “Okene, Kogi State” as an address, which is not a definite location for correspondence.
“The representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone numbers, and email addresses as required under Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines,” INEC stated.
The electoral body further noted that while a telephone number for the lead petitioner was provided, the numbers of other representatives were missing, making communication difficult.
Reaffirming its commitment to due process, INEC emphasized that the recall process is governed by the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, which are publicly available.
“The recall of a legislator is the prerogative of registered voters in a constituency who sign a petition indicating loss of confidence in their representative.
“Once a petition meets the submission requirements outlined in our regulations, the Commission will commence verification of the signatures at each polling unit in a transparent process, restricted to only registered voters who signed the petition,” the statement read.
INEC explained that the verification exercise would be conducted using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and observed by petitioners’ agents, the affected legislator’s representatives, accredited observers, and the media.
The Commission added that if the petitioners fulfill the requirements under Clause 1(f) of its regulations, it will proceed with the next steps in line with existing laws.
However, it stated that in the absence of a verifiable contact address, it is exploring other means to notify the petitioners of the situation.
