Deborah Akinyosoye
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said that the petition to recall the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan failed because the petitioners failed to secure the required number of signatures for the recall process.
The Commission, in a statement signed by Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, revealed that the petition fell short of more than one-half of the total number of registered voters in the district to commence the recall process.
According to the statement, the petition required at least 237, 278 registered voters to sign the petition, out of the total 474, 554 registered voters in the district.
Across the 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas of the five Local Government Areas that make up the Senatorial District, the Commission said it only ascertained 208,132 signatures/thumbprints from the submission made by the petitioners.
This, according to it, translates to 43.86% of the registered voters which falls short of the constitutional requirement by 29,146 signatories of 50% + 1.
“For emphasis, a petition for the recall of a Senator must comply with the provision of Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which requires the signatures of more than one-half of the registered voters in the constituency.
“The total number of registered voters in the Kogi Central Senatorial District is 474,554. 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.”
The Commission further said that it has issued a public notice to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in line with the provision of Clause 2(d) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
Earlier, the Commission, in a paragraph statement on its social media verified handled both on X and Facebook, revealed that the petition failed to meet up with constitutional requirements outlined in Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), reads, “A member of the Senate or of the House Representatives may be recalled as such a member if –
“(a) there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition in that behalf signed by more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member;”