- April 3, 2025
The rationale behind our choice not to initiate further actions related to Natasha’s recall.
On Thursday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that the petition to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central in the national assembly, did not fulfill the constitutional criteria.
This was due to only 43.86 percent of registered voters from the five local government areas signing the recall notice. According to a statement from the commission’s spokesperson, Mr. Sam Olumekun, only 208,132 out of 474,554 registered voters in the constituency, which equates to 43.86 percent, endorsed the recall notice.
This figure falls short of the required 237,278 signatures, effectively terminating the recall process. The statement noted, “the Commission convened its regular weekly meeting today, Thursday, April 3, 2025.”
The meeting addressed several matters, including the review and approval of the report detailing the physical count of signatures and thumbprints submitted with the petition for the recall of the Senator from Kogi Central Senatorial District, as stipulated in Clause 2(b) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
The Commission has committed to managing this issue impartially, adhering to legal standards and our established Regulations and Guidelines. Initially, we verified that the petitioners met all necessary criteria for submitting their 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.
Furthermore, we notified Nigerians that the next phase would be to thoroughly check the number of signatures and thumbprints to ensure the petition adheres to legal standards. This task has now been accomplished.
To initiate a recall of a Senator, it is essential to adhere to the stipulations outlined in Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). This section mandates that the petition must gather signatures from over half of the registered voters within the relevant constituency.
In the Kogi Central Senatorial District, there are 474,554 registered voters, meaning that more than half of this number (i.e., 50%+1) amounts to at least 237,278 voters. The Commission has reviewed the submissions from the petitioners and found that there are 208,132 valid signatures/thumbprints collected across the 902 Polling Units within 57 Registration Areas and five Local Government Areas that constitute the Senatorial District. This figure represents 43.86% of the registered voters, which is 29,146 signatures short of the constitutional requirement.
As a result, the petition does not fulfill the criteria set forth in Section 69(a) of the Constitution, and no further action will be taken regarding the Senator’s recall. In accordance with Clause 2(d) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, the Commission has issued a Public Notice to communicate this decision, which has also been forwarded to the presiding officer of the Senate. The Public Notice, along with a detailed summary of the review of the petitioners’ signatures/thumbprints, categorized by Local Government Areas, is accessible on our website and social media channels for public awareness.