By Nkechi Eze
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday disclosed that the petition for the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
The Commission in the early hours of the day disclosed the rejection on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle and later gave full details in an official signed statement disclosed to journalists by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee at its regular weekly meeting in Abuja.
According to the statement, in line with the provision of Clause 2(d) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, the Commission has issued a Public Notice to that effect which is also copied to the presiding officer of the Senate.
The Public Notice, along with a summary of the review of the signatures/thumbprints of the petitioners, which are disaggregated by Local Government Areas, are available on our website and social media platforms for public information.
“For emphasis, a petition for the recall of a Senator must comply with the provision of Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which requires the signatures of more than one-half of the registered voters in the constituency.
“The total number of registered voters in the Kogi Central Senatorial District is 474,554. More than one-half of this figure (i.e. 50%+1) is 237,277+1 which is at least 237,278 voters.
“Across the 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas and five Local Government Areas that make up the Senatorial District, the Commission ascertained 208,132 signatures/thumbprints from the submission made by the petitioners.
“This translates to 43.86% of the registered voters which falls short of the constitutional requirement by 29,146 signatories.
“Consequently, the petition has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution. Therefore, no further action shall be taken on the recall of the Senator.
“The Commission had assured Nigerians that it would handle the matter with fairness to the parties involved and in line with the provisions of the law and our Regulations and Guidelines.
“First, we ensured that the petitioners complied with the requirements for the submission of the petition.
“Secondly, we notified the member sought to be recalled in writing, copied the presiding officer of the Senate and simultaneously published the notice on our website.
“Thirdly, we informed Nigerians that the next step would be to carefully ascertain the number of signatures/thumbprints to ensure that the petition complies with the requirement of the law.
“This exercise has now been completed” the statement read.
