Why Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall bid failed – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has ruled that the petition to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, has failed to meet the constitutional requirements.

In a statement on Thursday, INEC referenced Section 69(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates that a recall petition must be signed by more than half of the registered voters in the constituency.

Following a physical verification of the submitted signatures, the commission found that only 208,132 valid signatures were presented—43.86% of the 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central. This figure fell short of the required 237,278 signatures by 29,146.

As a result, INEC confirmed that “no further action shall be taken on the recall of the senator” and has issued a public notice to that effect, notifying the Senate.

“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.

“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 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 public notice, along with a summary of the review of the signatures/thumbprints of the petitioners, which are disaggregated by local government areas, is available on our website and social media platforms for public information,” INEC stated.