Petitioners for Natasha Akpoti’s recall failed to provide contact details, says INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the representatives of petitioners seeking the recall of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi central, failed to provide their contact details.

Sam Olumekun, national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, said the petition was submitted on Monday with six bags of documents containing signatures from 474,554 registered voters in the district.

He said the representatives’ contact information was, however, found to be missing.

“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.”

On Monday, some indigenes of Kogi central constituency submitted a petition to INEC, requesting Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall.

Charity Omole, speaking on behalf of the constituents, explained that the petition was submitted to ensure Kogi central remains duly represented in the senate, adding that the district cannot afford a legislative vacuum.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the senate on March 6 for “gross misconduct” after a seating arrangement altercation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The suspension came just days after she accused Akpabio of sexually harassing her.

Olumekun said the recall process is guided by the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, and its regulations and guidelines for recall 2024.

He explained that once the petition meets the submission requirements, INEC will commence verifying signatures in each polling unit using the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).

He said the petitioners and the lawmaker whose recall is sought will be at liberty to nominate agents to observe the verification, while interested observers and the media will also be accredited.

“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.”

INEC reassured Nigerians that the commission would be guided by the legal framework for recall.