Update: Why Petition To Recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan Failed – INEC

By Ayodele Oni

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained that petition to recall Kogi Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was rejected because those that signed it were not up to 50 percent of voters as stipulated by the constitution.

INEC, in a statement signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony on behalf of the commission’s secretary stated that only 208,132 voters signed the petition which is just 43.86 percent.

The constitutional mandate is that fifty percent of the voters in the senatorial district must sign the petition before it could be processed.

The number of registered voter at the senatorial district is 474,554. The commission maintained that no further action shall be taken on the petition.

INEC had declared that the petition failed to meet the constitutional threshold required for such a process.

The electoral body made this disclosure on Thursday afternoon in a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

“The petition for the recall of the Senator representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended),” INEC wrote.

This latest twist in the recall saga comes barely a week after INEC initially accepted the petition, following the submission of contact details and addresses by the petitioners.

INEC’s sudden rejection of the petition raises questions, especially considering that just days ago, the Commission confirmed it had moved to the verification stage to determine whether the petition had the support of more than 50 per cent of the 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central Senatorial District.