The Independent National Electoral Commission has formally notified Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of a petition seeking her recall from the Senate by constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District.
IINEC had disclosed on Tuesday that it received six bags of documents containing signatures from over half of the 474,554 registered voters across 902 polling units in the five local government areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi, and Okene.
However, the electoral umpire noted that the petitioners initially failed to provide their contact address, telephone numbers, and email addresses, as required under Clause 1(f) of INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, said the petitioners have now submitted the necessary contact details in a letter addressed to the Commission’s chairman.
“Further to the statement issued on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, the Commission hereby confirms that the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers, and email addresses have now been provided in a letter dated Wednesday, March 26, 2025.
“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 statement reads
Olumekun further explained that INEC would now scrutinize the submitted signatures to verify that the petition meets the constitutional requirement of being signed by more than half of the registered voters in the constituency.
“The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission,” he added.
INEC reassured Nigerians that the recall process would be conducted transparently and in line with established regulations.
The recall process, a rare political development in Nigeria, requires that more than 50% of registered voters in the affected senatorial district sign the petition for it to move to the next stage, which includes a referendum.
The outcome of INEC’s verification will determine whether the recall process advances or is halted due to insufficient support.
