The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that the petition for the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, is flawed and riddled with procedural errors.
This was disclosed in the outcome of INEC’s regular weekly meeting held on Tuesday in Abuja, where, among other issues, the recall petition against Akpoti-Uduaghan was discussed.
A statement signed by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, emphasised that the recall process is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, as well as the Commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024. He assured that all petitions would be handled in strict compliance with the legal framework.
Daily Trust reports that a group of registered voters from Kogi Central Senatorial District submitted a petition to INEC on Monday, requesting the immediate commencement of the recall process against the suspended senator.
The petitioners, in a letter signed by the Lead Petitioner, Salihu Habib and submitted at INEC’s headquarters in Abuja, claimed they no longer had confidence in Akpoti-Uduaghan as their senator and representative in the upper legislative chamber.
At Tuesday’s meeting, INEC revealed that the petition from Kogi Central Senatorial District was accompanied by six bags of documents, reportedly containing signatures collected from over half of the 474,554 registered voters across 902 polling units in 57 registration areas (wards) spanning the five local government areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi, and Okene.
“The Commission’s immediate observation is that the representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone numbers, and email addresses in the covering letter forwarding the petition, as required by Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines.
“The address given is simply ‘Okene, Kogi State,’ which is not a specific location through which the petitioners can be contacted. Additionally, only the telephone number of the lead petitioner is provided, whereas the regulations require the contact details of all representatives of the petitioners,” Olumekun stated.
“In the absence of a definite contact address, the Commission is exploring alternative means to notify the petitioners’ representatives of the situation.
“The Commission reassures the public that it will be guided strictly by the legal framework for recall. The public should therefore disregard any speculation or insinuation circulating on social media,” Olumekun concluded.
There was a heated exchange on Tuesday as the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions again dismissed a fresh petition by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.
The committee rejected the petition on the grounds that the matter was subjudice. Present at the hearing were Natasha’s legal counsel, Abiola Akiyode; her witness, Zubairu Yakubu; and former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili. However, they were turned down, with the committee insisting it could not deliberate on a case already before the courts.
This marks the second time the Senate has declined to act on Natasha’s petition. On March 6, the committee had similarly dismissed the sexual harassment allegations, describing them as “dead on arrival” and a violation of Senate Standing Rules. The rejection followed Natasha’s failure to appear before the committee during an earlier review of her dispute with Akpabio over Senate seating arrangements.
Natasha had alleged in a television interview that Akpabio made sexual advances toward her during a visit to his residence in Akwa Ibom on December 8, 2023. She claimed Akpabio held her hand, led her around his house, and made inappropriate advances while her husband followed behind them. She also alleged that Akpabio later suggested she should “make him happy” if she wanted her motions to be smoothly considered in the Senate.
The proceedings turned chaotic when Yakubu attempted to speak while Committee Chairman Senator Neda Imaseun (Edo South) was addressing the panel. Yakubu’s microphone was turned off, prompting Ezekwesili to interject in his defense. Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi (Ebonyi North), appearing as a witness for Akpabio, then confronted Ezekwesili, leading to a heated exchange.
“Compose yourself and stop making noise,” Ezekwesili told Nwaebonyi.
In response, Nwaebonyi fired back: “You are a fool. What do you mean? Why are you talking to me like that? I will not take it. You are an insult to womanhood. People like you cannot be here.”
Ezekwesili retorted by calling him a “hooligan.” The confrontation disrupted the session for several minutes before order was restored.
After the altercation, Senator Imaseun ruled that the petition could not be heard as the matter was already in court.
Addressing journalists afterward, Yakubu criticized the committee’s handling of the matter, calling it unfair. Natasha’s counsel, Abiola Akiyode, also questioned why they were invited if the committee had already decided the issue was subjudice.
Ezekwesili condemned the proceedings, describing them as “a gross degradation of the constitution and the laws of the land.”
“The persistence with which the Nigerian Senate now tells us that citizens are entirely subject to Senate rules in a country that is a democracy must worry every Nigerian,” she said. “There is absolutely no basis for Senate rules to have supremacy over the constitution and the laws of the land.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) defines a recall as a process in which voters in a constituency petition to remove their elected representative from a legislative body, including the Senate, House of Representatives, and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Councils.
INEC’s authority to conduct recalls is based on Section 15, Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 2 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). According to these provisions and INEC’s recall guidelines, the process begins with submitting a petition to the INEC chairman.
While not an official requirement, those initiating a recall typically mobilise support before formally submitting the petition. The judiciary also plays a role, as either party may challenge aspects of the process in court.
The petition must be signed by more than 50% of registered voters in the affected constituency. INEC then verifies the petition, with monitoring by relevant government agencies, civil society organisations (CSOs), and other stakeholders.
The verification stage involves confirming the authenticity of signatures at polling units (PUs) within the affected constituency. Only those who signed the petition participate in this stage.
The final step is a referendum, where all registered voters in the constituency vote “Yes” or “No” on the recall. The recall succeeds if more than 50% of registered voters support it.
All registered voters in the constituency of the petitioned member can participate in the referendum, even if they did not sign the recall petition.
The law mandates that a recall process be completed within 90 days of receiving the petition.
If the recall succeeds, INEC issues a Certificate of Recall to the presiding officer of the relevant legislative house, and a by-election is conducted to fill the vacancy.
There is no legal restriction preventing a recalled legislator from re-contesting.
Meanwhile, Victor Giwa, one of the lawyers representing Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, has accused the Kogi State government of sponsoring the recall of the suspended female lawmaker as senator.
Giwa, while speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, said the state government, through Charity Omole, one of the aides of Governor Usman Ododo, has been championing the recall.
Omole, on Monday, led some constituents from Kogi Central to submit a petition to the INEC head office in Abuja, for the recall of Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Giwa said the recall process was politically motivated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state against the suspended senator, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The truth of the matter is that there is no way the recall process can go through except it is done fraudulently,” Giwa said.
“Charity Ijese Omole is currently the senior special assistant to the governor of Kogi State on Women and Youths. It is more or less the government sponsoring this process, not the constituents, and that fundamentally has faulted the process,” he said.
The state government has not reacted to the allegation as of press time.
Despite being enshrined in Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution to empower constituents, no recall process has been successfully completed in Nigeria.
In 2005, constituents attempted to recall Senator Jubril Aminu over claims of disengagement from grassroots issues. However, the petition failed to meet INEC’s requirements, allegedly due to intimidation and vote suppression.
A high-profile attempt was made against Senator Dino Melaye in 2017. Over 188,000 verified signatures were submitted, but the process collapsed due to legal challenges, delays and political interference. The turnout for the signature verification exercise was only 5.3% of registered voters—far below the required threshold.
Similarly, in 2016, an attempt to recall Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South did not advance beyond the petition stage due to political resistance. Other failed recall efforts include those against Farouk Lawan, Abdulmumin Jibrin, and Garba Datti Mohammed.
In a related development, Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja has recused himself from the defamation of character case filed by the Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswilll Akpabio and his aide.
At the proceedings on Tuesday, Justice Egwuatu announced his decision to withdraw from the matter after the usual court appearances.
He cited the allegation of bias from the third defendant in the case, Akpabio, as the major reason for his decision.
It was gathered that the Senate President had expressed a lack of confidence in the ability of the court to do justice on the matter, hence the reason for the development.
Justice Egwuatu further added that the case file will be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, for reassignment to another judge.