The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that the contact details of the petitioners’ representatives in the recall process of the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, are now available.
Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, announced this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
According to the statement, on Wednesday, a letter with the petitioners’ representatives’ phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information was delivered to the commission’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
The update followed a previous statement published by INEC on Tuesday, which stated that the petitioners did not submit the requisite contact information, including addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, as needed by the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
The statement further stated that, in accordance with INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, the commission made a formal communication to the senator in question of the receipt of the petition.
The letter was delivered to her official address and shared with the Senate’s presiding officer.
Furthermore, Olumekun added that it has been made available to the public via the INEC website.
“Further to the statement issued yesterday, Tuesday, 25th March 2025, the commission hereby confirms that the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the chairman of the commission dated today, Wednesday, 26th March 2025.
“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address.
“The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the commission’s website,” the statement read in part.
According to the statement, the next step in the process would be to thoroughly examine the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners.
INEC will confirm that the petition has been signed by more than 50% of registered voters in the Kogi Central Constituency.
The results of this verification will be made public in the following days, and they will determine the next steps in the recall process.
INEC has underlined its commitment to maintaining transparency throughout the process.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than half (over 50 per cent) of the registered voters in the constituency. This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the commission.
“We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent,” the statement concluded.
The recall petition followed a series of contentious incidents involving Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate on March 6 for alleged “gross misconduct” after a disagreement with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The petition, titled “Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,” sought her removal based on allegations of egregious misconduct, misuse of power, and a pattern of lying.
