The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has nullified the petition by 474,554 allegedly registered voters seeking to recall the Senator representing Kogi Central in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying there was no contact address.
While calling on the public to therefore discountenance any speculations and insinuations in the social media, the commission said the procedures for the recall of a legislator was not carried out by the petitioners.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, made the clarification in a statement issued after its regular weekly meeting said the petition from 474,554 voters
spread across 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas (Wards) in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene was accompanied by six bags of documents.
The statement reads, “Among other issues, the meeting discussed the petition for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The process of recall is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the Commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, available on our website.
“All petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework. The petition from Kogi Central Senatorial District
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 (Wards) in 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 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 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 wishes to reiterate 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. Once the petition meets the requirements of submission, as contained in our regulations, the commission shall commence the verification of the signatures in each Polling Unit in an open process restricted to registered voters that signed the petition only.
“The petitioners and the member whose recall is sought shall be at liberty to nominate agents to observe the verification, while interested observers and the media will also be accredited.
“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.
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.”
