Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall process advances as INEC verifies petitioners’ details

Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it has been provided with details of the identities of petitioners involved in the recall process of Senator Natasha Uduaghan-Akpoti.

A statement issued on Wednesday by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, read:

“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 next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) 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.”

Diaspora Digital Media had reported on Tuesday that the electoral body had received a petition by the embattled Senator’s constituents.

Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan slams INEC

Meanwhile, Senator  Akpoti-Uduaghan has slammed INEC for its handling of her recall petition, alleging bias and a breach of due process.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyer, Victor Giwa, accused INEC of compromising its neutrality by offering guidance to the petitioners instead of declaring the petition incompetent due to its procedural flaws.

The senator argued that INEC’s decision to allow the petitioners to correct their errors rather than disqualifying the petition outright undermines the integrity of the recall process.

Moreover, Akpoti-Uduaghan pointed out that the addresses provided in the petition were limited to Okene, Kogi State, suggesting that the alleged signatures may not accurately represent the entire senatorial district.

She urged INEC to “do the needful and rebuild the public trust that is fast declining”.

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