The petition, dated March 21, 2025, was officially received by the office of the INEC Chairman on Monday, March 24, 2025.
By Ife Osemedua
365Daily – A group of registered voters from Kogi Central Senatorial District has submitted a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, seeking the recall of their suspended representative in the Senate, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The petition, dated March 21, 2025, was officially received by the office of the INEC Chairman on Monday, March 24, 2025.
Leading the petitioners under the banner of Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, Charity Ijoshe Omole stated that they had lost confidence in Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan due to her alleged misconduct, which led to her suspension from the Senate.
“We can no longer trust her leadership because of the misconduct that resulted in her suspension, leaving Kogi Central unrepresented in the Senate,” Omole said.
“We are here to exercise our constitutional right to recall her. This petition is from Concerned Kogi Youth and Women. We, the people of Kogi Central, elected her, and now we are seeking her recall. Out of 488,000 registered voters, more than 250,000 have already signed in support,” she added.
The petition, addressed to INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and titled “Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,” invokes Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and INEC’s recall regulations.
It reads in part, “We, the undersigned, as duly registered voters of Kogi Central Senatorial District, hereby exercise our constitutional right to formally demand the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Nigerian Senate.
“This petition is based on our loss of confidence in her leadership due to gross misconduct, abuse of office, evasion of due process, and a pattern of deceitful behavior that has not only embarrassed the people of Kogi Central but also undermined the integrity of the Nigerian Senate and our democratic institutions.”
The petition also recalls that Akpoti-Uduaghan was declared Senator by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on October 31, 2023, which affirmed her victory in the February 25, 2023, Kogi Central Senatorial election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Meanwhile, INEC’s Assistant Director of Publicity in the Department of Voter Education and Publicity, Esther Chibuikem, confirmed that the Commission was currently deliberating on the petition.
“The Commission is meeting on the Kogi recall process now—Committee Room, 22nd Floor, INEC Headquarters,” Chibuikem stated.