One of the petitioners calling for the recall of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, from the Senate has stated that they are preparing to submit a fresh petition after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected the initial one.
Sandra Musa, speaking on behalf of the petitioners during an appearance on TVC’s breakfast programme on Friday, insisted that there would be “no turning back” in their efforts to recall Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan
“It doesn’t mean that the process has been put on a halt, and so we are believing that once we are able to meet up with the level of compliance that they need for it to be adequate, the process will definitely take its course,” she said.
INEC had earlier rejected the petition for failing to meet the threshold outlined in Section 69(a) of the Nigerian Constitution, which requires that at least 50 per cent plus one of the registered voters in a constituency must sign a recall petition.
According to INEC, only 208,132 of the 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central signed the petition, amounting to 43.86 per cent and falling short by 29,146 signatures.
Despite this, Mrs Musa stated that verified signatures from INEC were encouraging after it gave the petitioners hope that they could get the required signatures.
“The people in her compound, are they up to 5,000? And what we heard from INEC, being an independent body, has already made us understand that over 208,000 signatures have been verified. So, I’ll leave that to the public to judge,” she added.
How the recall started
The attempt to recall Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan began in early March when some constituents gathered to initiate the process. The process was met with criticism and allegations that the petitioners were financially induced.
On 24 March, a faction from her constituency, known as the Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, formally submitted the petition to INEC headquarters in Abuja.
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