The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially rejected a petition seeking the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District. The decision was made after a thorough verification of the signatures submitted with the petition.
According to INEC’s press statement, dated April 3, 2025, “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)” ¹. The section requires that a recall petition must be signed by more than half of the registered voters in the constituency.
In this case, the petition fell short of the required signatures. Out of the 474,554 registered voters in the district, the petition garnered only 208,132 signatures/thumbprints, representing 43.86% of the registered voters.
“The petition did not meet the constitutional requirements for the recall process,” the statement read. Consequently, INEC has ceased further action on the recall process.
It’s worth noting that the recall process has been marred by controversy, with allegations of fake signatures and manipulation. A court had earlier restrained INEC from handling the petition, citing concerns over fictitious signatures.
