INEC Rejects Petition to Recall Kogi East Senator,

Oru Leonard

INEC has rejected the petition to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, due to insufficient signatures. According to Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, the commission verified only 208,132 signatures, which translates to 43.86% of the registered voters in the district.

This falls short of the constitutional requirement of 237,278 signatures, which is more than half of the registered voters. Olumekun explained that the petitioners needed to meet the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution, which mandates the signatures of more than half of the registered voters in the constituency.

Olumekun stated that INEC ensured the petitioners complied with the requirements for submitting the petition, notified the senator and the presiding officer of the senate, and published the notice on their website. However, the petition fell short of the required signatures, and therefore, no further action will be taken on the recall of the senator.

A public notice has been issued by INEC, which includes a summary of the review of the signatures/thumbprints, and is available on their website and social media platforms for public information.