INEC Confirms Petitioners Have Submitted Required Details For Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Recall

INEC Confirms Petitioners Have Submitted Required Details For Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Recall

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that the petitioners seeking the recall of suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from Kogi Central have provided the necessary contact details, including addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, made this announcement in a statement issued on Wednesday evening, March 26, 2025. This follows the Commission’s earlier statement on March 25, which had noted that the petitioners had not met the required criteria for submitting contact information as per the Commission’s 2024 Recall Regulations and Guidelines….READ MORE…

Olumekun clarified that the petitioners had now submitted their contact information, which was included in a letter sent to the INEC Chairman on March 26, 2025. The Commission also notified Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan about the petition’s receipt by delivering the notification to her official address. A copy of the letter has been forwarded to the Senate’s presiding officer and published on INEC’s website.

He further explained that the next step would be to verify that the petition is signed by over 50% of registered voters in the constituency. This will be conducted in the coming days, with the results to be made public, which will determine the Commission’s next course of action.

Olumekun reassured the public that the entire process would be conducted transparently.

This update follows Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s criticism of INEC, accusing the Commission of bias. Through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, she expressed disappointment that INEC had not rejected the petition outright, instead providing guidance to the petitioners. She argued that INEC should have declared the petition invalid due to procedural issues, which would have ended the process.