Petition to recall senator Akpoti-Uguaghan is faulty, says electoral commission

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday faulted petitions submitted by a group of voters under the aegis of Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, for the recall of the suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Penpushing reports that the spokesperson of the electoral body Sam Olumekun made this clear in a statement explaining that the said petition lacked important details to kick-start the process.

The statement pointed out that the petitioners did not provide contact address, telephone numbers and email addresses of the voters whom they claimed signed the petitions for them to be contacted.

Penpushing further reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) emphasized that it noted the missing details during its weekly meeting held on Tuesday in which Akpto-Uduaghan’s recall was discussed.

The commission explained that the process of recall as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, are to be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework.

Penpushing also reports that the statement explained that the petition submitted against the Senator was accompanied by six bags of documents said to be signatures collected from over half of the 474,554 registered voters spread across 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene.

The commission, however, argued that the petition did not contain the contact details of the voters who signed the petition so they can be contacted as provided in a section of its regulations and guidelines.

“The Commission’s immediate observation is that the representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address (es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines’, the statement read.

‘The address given is “Okene, Kogi State”, which is not a definite location for contacting the petitioners. Only the telephone number of “the lead petitioner” is provided as against the numbers of all the other representatives of the petitioners’, the commission added.

Penpushing reports that the electoral body reiterated that the recall of a legislator is the prerogative of registered voters in a constituency who sign a petition indicating loss of confidence in the legislator representing them.

The commission, however, declared that it would guide the legal framework for the recall even as it asked the public to discountenance any speculations in the social media regarding the process.

‘The Commission reassures the public that it will be guided by the legal framework for recall. The public should therefore discountenance any speculations and insinuations in the social media,” the statement said.

Penpushing further reports that the electoral body explained that once a petition meets the requirements of submission, as contained in its regulations, it will commence the verification of the signatures in each polling unit in an open process restricted to registered voters that signed the petition only.

The statement added that the petitioners, the elected official whose recall is sought, interested observers and the media can also nominate agents who will be accredited to observe the verification process.

“At each Polling Unit, signatories to the petition shall be verified using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). Consequently, if the petitioners fully comply with the requirements of clause 1(f) of the regulations and guidelines regarding the submission of their petition, the commission will announce the next steps in line with the extant laws, regulations and guidelines. In the absence of a definite contact address, the commission is making efforts to use other means to notify the representatives of the petitioners of the situation.”

Penpushing also reports that the commission explaining legal framework for recall said section 69 of the Constitution states that: A member of the Senate or of the House Representatives may be recalled as such a member if there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition in that behalf signed by more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member.

‘The petition is thereafter, in a referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission within ninety days of the date of receipt of the petition, approved by a simple majority of the votes of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency’, it stated.

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