Natasha: Petitioners Yet To Meet Recall Requirements – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has said the representatives of the petitioners seeking the recall of the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central district at the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti -Uduaghan did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines.

The commission said the address is “Okene, Kogi State,” which is not a definite location for contacting the petitioners. It insists that only the telephone number of “the lead petitioner” is provided, as opposed to the numbers of all the other representatives of the petitioners.

INEC National Commissioner and chairman of its information and voter education committee, Sam Olumekun, said this at the end of the commission’s weekly meeting on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the recall process is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and the Commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, which are available on its website. He stressed that all petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework.

“The Commission held its regular weekly meeting today, Tuesday 25th March 2025. Among other issues, the meeting discussed the petition for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.

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“The process of recall is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, as well as the Commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, available on our website. All petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework.

“The petition from Kogi Central Senatorial District was accompanied by six bags of documents said to be signatures collected from over half of the 474,554 registered voters spread across 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas (Wards) in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene.

“The Commission’s immediate observation is that the representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines.

“The address given is “Okene, Kogi State”, which is not a definite location for contacting the petitioners. Only the telephone number of “the lead petitioner” is provided as against the numbers of all the other representatives of the petitioners,” Olumekun said.

The INEC Chief Spokesperson reiterated that the recall of a legislator is the prerogative of registered voters in a constituency who sign a petition indicating loss of confidence in the legislator representing them.

He said that once the petition meets the submission requirements, as contained in INEC’s regulations, the commission shall commence the verification of the signatures in each polling unit in an open process restricted to registered voters who signed the petition only.

“The petitioners and the member whose recall is sought shall be at liberty to nominate agents to observe the verification, while interested observers and the media will also be accredited. At each Polling Unit, signatories to the petition shall be verified using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

“Consequently, if the petitioners fully comply with the requirements of Clause 1(f) of the Regulations and Guidelines regarding the submission of their petition, the Commission will announce the next steps in line with the extant laws, regulations and guidelines.

“In the absence of a definite contact address, the commission is making efforts to use other means to notify the representatives of the petitioners of the situation.

“The commission reassures the public that it will be guided by the legal framework for recall. The public should, therefore, discountenance any speculations and insinuations in the social media,” Olumekun added.