Petitioners Seeking Natasha Akpoti’s Recall Failed To Provide Contact Details – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pointed out a major flaw in the petition seeking to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central.

According to INEC, the petitioners’ representatives failed to provide their full contact details, making it difficult to reach them.

Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, revealed that the petition was submitted on Monday.

He said it came with six bags of documents containing signatures from 474,554 registered voters in the district.

“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,” the statement reads.

“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 recall petition was submitted by a group of constituents from Kogi Central, led by Charity Omole, who argued that the move was necessary to ensure the district remains effectively represented in the Senate.

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the Senate on March 6 for “gross misconduct” following a dispute over seating arrangements with Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Her suspension came shortly after she accused Akpabio of sexual harassment.

Olumekun clarified that the recall process would follow constitutional guidelines, the Electoral Act 2022, and INEC’s 2024 recall regulations.

If the petition meets all submission requirements, the commission will proceed with verifying signatures from each polling unit using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

Both the petitioners and Akpoti-Uduaghan will have the right to nominate agents to observe the verification process.

Olumekun said accredited media and independent observers will also be allowed to monitor the proceedings.

“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,” Olumekun said.

“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.”

He added that If the required information is provided, the commission will announce the next steps in accordance with the law.

KanyiDaily had reported how some residents of Kogi Central Senatorial District asked the INEC to begin the process of recalling their representative, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.