The Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has strongly criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for not outrightly rejecting a petition seeking her recall, describing the commission’s handling of the matter as biased and unfair.
INEC Confirms Receipt of Petition with Procedural Flaws
In a statement signed by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, INEC confirmed receiving the recall petition, which reportedly contains signatures from more than half of the 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central.
However, the commission pointed out that the petition lacked essential details, including the contact addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of the petitioners, as required by the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
Senator Natasha: INEC Has Compromised Its Neutrality
Reacting through her lawyer, Victor Giwa, in a letter dated March 26, 2025, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan accused INEC of compromising its neutrality by guiding the petitioners on how to correct their errors instead of declaring the petition incompetent and dismissing it outright.
She argued that INEC’s press release on March 25 clearly showed partisanship, as the commission had already acknowledged that the petition did not meet the required legal threshold.
Her statement read:
“Lawfully, the Commission is supposed to have declared the petition as incompetent for being patently defective. However, rather than disregarding the petition for failure to meet the requirements, INEC chose to act as an adviser to the petitioners, instructing them to provide the missing details so the verification process could proceed.”
Concerns Over Petition’s Validity and Regional Representation
Senator Natasha further questioned the authenticity of the petition, pointing out that the addresses provided were limited to Okene, Kogi State, raising doubts about whether the alleged signatures truly represent the entire senatorial district.
“The petition, according to your press release, was signed in Okene, Kogi State. This suggests that the 250 signatories referenced came only from Okene, rather than across the entire Kogi Central Senatorial District,” she stated.
Call for INEC to Uphold Due Process and Public Trust
She insisted that INEC’s decision to allow corrections instead of disqualifying the petition outright was a breach of due process, calling on the commission to restore public trust by doing the right thing.
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“We still believe that the Commission will act rightly and uphold its integrity. It must declare the petition as incompetent, notify the petitioners accordingly, and bring an end to this process.”
INEC Under Scrutiny Over Recall Petition Handling
This development has sparked debates on INEC’s impartiality, with many closely watching how the electoral body will handle the situation to ensure fairness, transparency, and due process in the recall proceedings.
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