The petition seeking the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan failed to meet the constitutional requirement, Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) said yesterday.
The electoral agency said only 208,132 voters of the 474,554 registered in the constituency, representing 43.86 percent signed the recall notice as against the required 237,278, thereby putting an end to the process.
Section 69(a) of the Constitution states that “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”.
National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education of the Commission, Sam Olumekun said in a statement that the commission will no longer take any action on the recall process since the petition has failed constitutional test.
Of the 114,663 registered voters in Adavi Local Government, 32,671 signed the petition, for Ajaokuta, out of 96,504, 45,808 signed up.
In Ogori Magongo, only 9 369 voters of the 17,688 registered voters signed the recall, while in Okehi and Okene, only 37,064 and 83,220 of the 94,456 and 151,243 registered voters respectively signed the register submitted to the commission.
The statement from the commission reads: “The Commission held its regular weekly meeting today, Thursday 3rd April 2025. Among other issues, the meeting considered and approved the report of its physical count of the signatures/thumbprints forwarded with the petition for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, in line with Clause 2(b) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
“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.
“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.
“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 Public Notice, along with a summary of the review of the signatures/thumbprints of the petitioners, which are disaggregated by local government areas, are available on our website and social media platforms for public information”.
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan yesterday lauded INEC for its decision to stop her recall.
Following the statement by INEC, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan took to her Facebook page where she announced that she has won one battle and there are two more to go.
The post reads: “On God it’s victory for the people of Nigeria. One battle down, two more to go.
“Deep gratitude to my beloved husband, awesome support team, magnificent people of Kogi Central and great people of Nigeria at large. INEC Nigeria, you did well.”
Also yesterday, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan launched the building of a free maternity centre and child care centre in Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The centre, scheduled for completion in four months, according to a statement by her media aide, Israel Arogbonlo, would provide free and efficient maternity services to women in the district.
The senator expressed her excitement about the project, stating that she understands the challenges of childbirth, having given birth to four children herself.
She emphasised that every pregnancy is unique and comes with its own risks, and acknowledged that women in rural areas face even greater difficulties due to limited access to healthcare.
“As a mother of four, I understand the physical toll of pregnancy and the unique risks involved.
“With my access to healthcare, I can only imagine the challenges women in rural areas face during childbirth. As your Senator, I believe it’s important to build a maternity and childcare center to support these women,” Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan said.
According to the statement, the maternity centre will be a 20-bed facility with two delivery rooms, an ICU, and staff quarters.
The senator noted that the staff quarters are essential, as many doctors are reluctant to work in rural areas due to inadequate accommodation.
She promised the centre’s services will be completely free, adding that she looks forward to seeing women gather at the centre to receive antenatal care and support.
She also highlighted the centre’s sacred location, situated near the grave of the Ebira nation’s mother and the Eid ground where Muslim faithful observe Salah prayers.
In addition to the maternity centre, the Kogi lawmaker also empowered her constituents by providing tools and training to those who had earlier been trained in welding and carpentry. This initiative aims to enable them to start their own workshops and become financially independent.
The senator concluded by thanking her constituents and expressing her joy in spending time with them.
She also announced that 200 bags of rice would be distributed to those present, in addition to the 2400 bags of grains distributed a few weeks prior.
But the senatorial district constituents insisted yesterday in bringing back home the suspended lawmaker.
They thanked the agency for validating 208,132 (43.86 per cent) signatures in the petition submitted for the recall.
The constituents noted that, though they had 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 have 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.
In a statement yesterday by Salihu Habib, on behalf of the petitioners, the constituents said:”We will liaise with INEC within the full ambit of the Constitution and regulations to demand for 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,” the constituents said.
They expressed their gratitude to INEC for proving naysayers, who queried the authenticity of their figures, wrong.
“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,” they said.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
