By Euclid Myke, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has halted the process that will trigger the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduagha from the Red Chambers of the National Assembly as the documents submitted by constituents fell short of requirements.
Recall that some constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District had submitted a petition to the INEC, requesting the recall of Sen. Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan, the suspended lawmaker representing the district in the National Assembly.
In the petition titled, ‘Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,’ they said that the petition was brought pursuant to Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), as well as INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall Petitions.
They claimed that the petition arose as a result of loss of confidence in her representation. They said that there are 488,000 registered voters in the constituency, out of which 250,000 voters signed the petition.
But after its weekly meeting at the commission’s headquarters on Tuesday, INEC said that the submitted documents fell short of the minimum requirement, which will validate it for consideration.
In a statement by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, the commission pointed out some flaws in the documents, which made it unfit for consideration.
The statement reads, “”“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.
“The Commission wishes to reiterate 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. Once the petition meets the requirements of submission, as contained in our regulations, the Commission shall commence the verification of the signatures in each Polling Unit in an open process restricted to registered voters that 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”.
