The Independent National Electoral Commission has officially accepted a petition seeking the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan after the petitioners provided the required contact details and address.
This comes a day after INEC initially rejected the petition, citing the absence of verifiable contact information.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the electoral body confirmed that the petitioners had addressed the deficiencies by submitting their contact address, phone numbers, and email addresses in a formal letter to the Commission’s chairman.
INEC has now moved to the next phase, where it will scrutinize the submitted signatures to verify if they meet the constitutional requirement of more than 50 percent of the 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central Senatorial District.
Announcing the latest development, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, stated, “Further to the statement issued yesterday, Tuesday 25th March 2025, the Commission hereby confirms that the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission dated today Wednesday 26th March 2025.”
INEC also confirmed that a formal notification letter had been sent to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, informing her of the petition for her recall.
It said, “As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the Senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address.
“The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the Commission’s website.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one-half (over 50 percent) of the registered voters in the Constituency.
“This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission.
“We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent.”
The letter, signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Rose Oriaran Anthony, reads, “Pursuant to Section 69 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I write to notify you of the receipt of a petition from representatives of registered voters in your constituency seeking your recall from the Senate.
“This notification is in line with the provision of Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall, 2024. This letter is also copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and simultaneously published on the Commission’s website.”
The recall petition has been marred by controversy, with allegations of fraud and political vendetta.
INEC’s initial rejection of the petition on March 25, 2025, cited the lack of a clear contact address for the petitioners, raising questions about the legitimacy of the process.
However, with the new compliance by the petitioners, INEC has now moved forward despite legal challenges.
A Federal High Court in Lokoja had earlier issued an interim injunction restraining INEC from accepting or acting on any recall petition against Akpoti-Uduaghan, citing allegations of fraudulent signatures.
The case is set for a hearing on May 6, 2025.