The Peoples Democratic Party and a former education minister, Oby Ezekwesili, have endorsed the Independent National Electoral Commission’s rejection of the recall petition against the embattled Kogi Central lawmaker, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for not fulfilling the requirements of the constitution.
Undeterred, however, the petitioners have vowed to mobilise more constituents against the lawmaker and ensure her recall.
The electoral commission said in a statement on Thursday that the recall petition failed and the exercise would not proceed, citing the need for signatures from more than half of the registered voters in the Senator’s constituency.
The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, explained that INEC had completed a thorough review of the signatures and thumbprints submitted in support of the petition.
This review was conducted in accordance with the 2024 Guidelines for Recall, the commission noted.
According to INEC, the petitioners were previously informed of the required steps, and Akpoti-Uduaghan was notified. Additionally, the commission had published the petition details on its website.
To meet the constitutional threshold for a recall, section 69(a) of the Constitution mandates that a petition must be supported by signatures from at least half of the registered voters in a Senator’s constituency.
For Kogi Central, with 474,554 registered voters, this equates to a minimum of 237,278 signatures.
However, after reviewing the submitted signatures and thumbprints, INEC confirmed that only 208,132 were valid, which represents 43.86 per cent of the total registered voters. This falls short of the required number by 29,146 signatures.
As a result, INEC concluded that the petition did not meet the constitutional requirements and would not proceed with the recall process.
“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 statement explained.
The commission has issued an official public notice to this effect, which has been sent to the presiding officer of the Senate.
“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 statement added.
The PDP hailed INEC over its decision to abandon the recall process for failing to meet constitutional requirements.
The party’s Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, said INEC deserved the plaudit for speaking the truth.
He stated, “I think the current chairman of INEC, realizing his time in office is limited and his influence is waning, has had to do what is right and good. I believe INEC has finally awakened from its many years of slumber. And now, they want to redeem themselves from the mistakes they are known for.
“For the first time, I want to salute INEC and commend them for what they have done in the case of Natasha by declaring that the process is not credible, which we all know is true. I want them to have the courage to continue.”
They should refuse to participate in election processes that are not credible.
“So, I think what INEC has done regarding Natasha’s case is a welcome development. It’s not something we should simply thank them for, but given their previous reputation and history, I believe we should commend them for waking up and having the courage to say no in the face of the forces that were interested in this case.”
Ezekwesili also saluted the electoral body, saying in a statement on x.com, ‘’Senator @NatashaAkpoti simply keeps winning. Courageous and irrepressible, she keeps beating her traducers who, in gross abuse of public power and institutions, are invested in silencing her.
‘’Their orchestrated fraudulent recall has failed as ruled by @inecnigeria. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan called it! This Injustice shall not be sustained. And we all continue to stand with her as we chorus: Amen!’’
The Amnesty International said the intimidation of Akpoti-Uduaghan must end, adding that the National Assembly must not continue to look away while her allegations of sexual harassment against Sen. Godswill Akpabio are being ‘’bizarrely trivialized, unaddressed and ignored.’’
It stated, ‘’The weight and scale of the allegations of sexual harassment are one more pressing reason for establishing an independent, resourceful and impartial investigation.’’
Unperturbed by INEC’s stance, the petitioners said that though they mobilised more than the 50 per cent plus one threshold of registered voters and submitted their petition with full documentation, the validation of 43.86 per cent by the commission still confirmed that Kogi Central constituents had abandoned the embattled Senator.
“Apparently, INEC cancelled not less than 35,000 signatures at the administrative stage,” the constituents said, while reacting to a statement on the recall process issued by the electoral umpire, the leader of the petitioners, Salihu Habib, stated in a statement.
According to him, the constituents insisted that there was no going back on their resolve to bring the Kogi Senator back home.
“We will liaise with INEC within the full ambits of the Constitution and regulations to demand transparency in the handling of our petition. We have utmost confidence in the commission not to subject the recall process to ambiguity or administrative opacity,” he said.
Habib expressed gratitude to INEC for proving wrong the naysayers, who queried the authenticity of their figures.
“We thank INEC for making it clear that the bulk of the people of Kogi Central are behind us and that we did not import a crowd like a desperate, embattled lawmaker,” the petitioners, insisting that ‘’the recall of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan for misconduct and divisiveness was non-negotiable.’’
They said, “We are firm in our resolve to restore dignified and collaborative representation to Kogi Central Senatorial District. We will no longer indulge someone who will do and say anything just to remain politically relevant.
“The whole of Nigeria watched her deceptive rally last Tuesday where she openly made comments capable of setting not just Kogi State, but Nigeria, ablaze.
“How can any patriotic Nigerian accuse other parts of the country of sabotaging Kogi State/the North because LNG plants are sited here? How can a responsible Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria try to pit the North against the South?”
“We will pursue all lawful and constitutional means to ensure our voices are heard and respected. After God, power belongs to the people,” the constituents added.
The lawyer to the Kogi lawmaker, Victor Giwa, dismissed the threat by the petitioners to press on with the recall process, describing it as a mere distraction.
Giwa stressed that the focus should be on addressing issues within the National Assembly and allowing Akpoti-Uduaghan to carry out her responsibilities as a legislator.
“Everything is failed. It is just a distraction. They should face the issue of the National Assembly and allow Natasha to do her job as a legislator. We are entering the rainy season. They should focus on their farms. They should wait until her tenure is over before they can think of voting her out,’’ he noted.
Giwa said they were happy with the INEC’s rejection of the petition even though many believe the electoral umpire might have been pressured to make the decision.
He said, “I am happy PUNCH followed this issue very well. I had written to INEC that the proper thing to have done was to reject that petition and told the chairman the same thing when I met him.
“Although they must have been forced to redeem their image, I think INEC has done well. So we celebrate the fact that they have come out publicly to reject that petition.”
Giwa also expressed optimism that aborting the recall process would leave the Senate leadership no option than to consider rescinding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension and allow her to return to the National Assembly.
“Of course, this is one of the steps taken to ensure she returns to the Senate. With this rejection now, (Senate President Godswill) Akpabio will know there is no other barrier other than to just quickly withdraw the suspension and allow her to come back to the National Assembly,” he said.
In a statement issued by her media team on Thursday, Akpoti-Uduaghan praised INEC for rejecting what she called a ‘fake process’ by sponsored groups and individuals to recall her from the Senate.
While thanking the electoral umpire for upholding justice constitutionality, she mocked former Governor Yahaya Bello àgain and other ‘undemocratic elements’ in Kogi and the Senate for attempting to break her willpower.
She said, “God has put to shame anti-democratic forces plotting my recall from the Senate, including one of the most wanted persons by the EFCC, former governor Yahaya Bello. All along, I did not exercise any fear because I have a God that never fails, and I have people on my side.
“The decision to reject the recall process is a justice against injustice. INEC has proven to be truly independent, and history will never forget this justice. I commend the umpire for shaming the shameless agents of darkness and setting the record straight according to the laws of our land.
“To God be the glory, we have defeated them again. This development is another record-breaking against those who prefer coming from the backyard, the manipulators, election riggers, the violent merchants and their allies in Kogi Central and beyond. Bear in mind that your days are numbered in politics. I am out to bring justice to the oppressed and to ensure Nigeria is great again.”
Speaking in an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today,’ the suspended lawmaker criticized Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, asserting that he has no right to control how she communicates with her constituents.
Responding to the governor’s directive that she should not hold a rally in the state as it might result in violence, the senator clarified that she met with her constituents at her private residence.
She stated, “I don’t think the state governor has the right to dictate what I speak and what, how I communicate to my people. Well, that’s a private gathering. And that’s how my people gather for me every time I’m home.
‘’So, that’s it. I don’t know what his definition of a public gathering is. But to me, that’s not a public space, that’s not a community hall, that’s my compound. The whole area you see there, it’s owned by me. And that’s where people gather.”
She further explained that tension had been high among her supporters due to recent political events, but she urged them to remain peaceful.
“It took a whole lot for me to speak calm to my people in the past one month so that they would not react to my suspension or the harassment claim because they were very upset when I came up on Arise tv then to narrate the challenges I had to face in the Senate the past one year. So, that ordinarily created a lot of anger in the minds of an average Ebira person.
“So, I had to preach calm to them. I’ve told them to be law-abiding citizens, not to take the law into their own hands. And believe me, if you know the history of my people, you actually appreciate the fact that they have remained peaceful.
“The fact that I’m suspended illegally does not remove my legitimacy as a senator. I remain a senator. And at every gathering, I owe my people a duty to educate them on politics and their expectations with regards to the situation we face, which was the recall. I wanted to speak to them through the local radio, but then I thought, you know what, let me keep that, meet with them and explain to them face to face. I owe it to my people. That is what a responsible leader will do,” he further said.
The senator pushed back against any attempts to silence her, insisting that she has the right to communicate with her constituents.
“I did not cross any line. Politics is a way of life. As a politician, even if I wasn’t a politician, the atmosphere was tense because of the political situations around,’’ she explained.
She also expressed disappointment with Ododo, alleging that he aligned himself with former Governor Yahaya Bello to push for her recall.
“To a large extent, I thought he (Ododo) was on my side until he took heed of ex-governor Yahaya Bello’s request, which was to align with my recall. I was actually surprised at that. And if you watched my speech in my hometown, I did mention that the Senate President Godswill Akpabio first called on Governor Ododo to commence my recall, but he turned that down.
“And later on, two days after, on the 14th day of March 2025, Akpabio called on Yahaya Bello to commence my recall. And what did Yahaya Bello do? He tasked Ododo, and Ododo could not say no. So, he went on.
“The petitions, the primary petitioners, the 14 of them that submitted the first cover letter, were all signed by special advisors to Ododo himself. He does have a hand. He gave approval. They’re all his staff, all of them. I don’t deal with just rumours, I make sure I verify.”
The Kogi Central People’s Alliance welcomed the INEC verdict, arguing that the recall petition was politically motivated.
A statement by the coordinator of the group, Baba Abdulrazaq, read, “This development is a triumph of the people and justice against retrogressive elements who sought to subvert the will of the people. Although the belated verdict didn’t come as a surprise to us, we expected nothing less, given the frivolous nature and falsehoods that characterised the petition.
“However, we are utterly shocked by the claim that petitioners scored up to 43 per cent of the required signatures for a recall. This claim by INEC demands a forensic investigation to uncover the truth. The attempted electoral fraud disguised as a recall process has been put to test, and the people have emerged victorious.’’
“Nevertheless, this weighty alleged crime should not be swept under the carpet. We call for a thorough investigation, and culprits must be served with appropriate sanctions to deter a repeat of such crimes,” he added.
Meanwhile, the President of the 10th Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has dissociated himself from a solidarity rally being planned for him in his hometown in Akwa Ibom, saying he doesn’t know the organisers.
The rebuttal was made in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media Matters, Jackson Udom.
In the statement titled, ‘Disregard any rally in Akwa Ibom purported to be in support of Sènate President Godswill Akpabio,’ the former governor urged his supporters to steer clear of the gathering, warning that the group behind it may have ulterior motives.
It said, “The attention of the office of the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has been drawn to a planned rally purported to be in support of the Senate President and organised by an unknown association by the name, Progressive Peoples’ Resolution and led by one Ubong Idemudo, a known controversial character, slated for tomorrow 4th April.
“The President of the Senate is not aware of any rally organised in his support at any venue in Akwa Ibom and therefore urges his supporters and the peace-loving people of Akwa Ibom State to disregard such rally and go about their lawful duties.
“The planned rally, from information pieced together, is the handiwork of fifth columnists trying to use the name of the Senate President to achieve their devilish goal.”
The Senate President, therefore, urged security agencies to move swiftly into action and ensure the rally didn’t hold.
“The police and other security agencies in the state are by this statement directed to ensure that such satanic rally is not allowed to hold, as such has no approval of the Senate President,” the statement read. (Punch)
