Questionable process for Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall
On Monday, March 24, 2025, two nebulous organisations, the Kogi Central Political Frontier and the Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, clearly in the service of the traducers of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, submitted questionable recall documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). One Charity Omole, a veteran special adviser on Youth and Women Affairs in […]
On Monday, March 24, 2025, two nebulous organisations, the Kogi Central Political Frontier and the Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, clearly in the service of the traducers of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, submitted questionable recall documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
One Charity Omole, a veteran special adviser on Youth and Women Affairs in Kogi State, first to former Governor Yahaya Bello and now to Governor Usman Ododo, headed the two groups. The step was meant to kick-start the dubious process for recalling the Kogi Central senator from the National Assembly.
In her address to the press, Omole argued that, “This petition arises from our loss of confidence in the senator on the grounds of gross misconduct, abuse of office, evasion of due process and a pattern of deceitful behaviour that has not only embarrassed the people of Kogi Central constituency but has also tarnished the integrity of the Nigerian Senate and our nation’s democratic institutions.
“By this petition, which we have made sure is signed by more than one-half of the registered voters in Kogi Central, we hereby demand that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately commences the constitutional and procedural process of recall to remove Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from office and declare her seat vacant.”
The petitioners claimed that some 250,000 voters in Kogi Central Senatorial District, out of 488,000 registered voters, had signed the petition delivered to the electoral umpire in 10 bags.
Many pundits believe the process of obtaining those signatures was questionable. It has come to light that individuals who worked for shady politicians had crept into Kogi Central with so-called palliatives. Peasants were asked to submit their National Identification Numbers (NIN) and voter’s cards, as pre-conditions for accessing the handouts. A few gullible persons were coerced into providing the details of their private documents. But those who saw through the scheming turned their back on the manipulative ‘palliatives’.
To demonstrate that the signatures obtained were forged, multitudes in Kogi Central embarked on an anti-recall protest after the cat was released from the bag.
A day after the petition was submitted, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, made some “immediate observations” bordering on procedural irregularities. He said: “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 errors signalled that the petitioners wanted to be anonymous, a position that is inconsistent with the law about the recall of lawmakers. However, after some adjustments by the petitioners, INEC went ahead to commence the recall process, wrote to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and notified the National Assembly accordingly.
While the people of Kogi Central have the right to recall their representative, transparency and decorum must be observed by those spearheading the project. They must not manipulate the people for selfish gains.
Also, INEC should not yield to the machinations of undemocratic forces that have risen against the senator in the National Assembly and Kogi State. It is the responsibility of the commission to cross-check the petition to confirm if it has been genuinely signed by more than half of the total registered voters in that constituency, and also if it is in line with the laws, regulations and guidelines in the Constitution, Electoral Act and INEC rules.
So far, there are claims that the signatures were obtained through subterfuge, as evident in the viral videos and in the fact that in previous elections in Kogi Central, never had 250,000 persons voted! The average votes for the senators had been 100,000 votes. The alleged forged 2023 governorship election results that produced over 300,000 votes in Kogi Central have been contested in court and found to be fraudulent. The characters that forged the 250,000 signatures must not be rewarded with approval from INEC, as Nigerians can already smell mischief. The electoral body must not fall for the pranks of dubious politicians.
But beyond the moves for the recall, we insist that the Senate must go back to the root cause of the problem. The leadership must respond to the challenges posed to it by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, first by transparently probing the allegations made by her. For instance, why would the Senate President ignore a senator’s motion five consecutive times? Why would the Senate President allegedly ask a colleague to make him happy to enjoy the benefits of the Senate? If the Senate President did not mean sexual harassment, what did he mean when he asked Natasha to make him happy? Why should the senator be suspended for six months simply because she resisted a change in her sitting position? What precedents do we have of such punishment? It is clear that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan is being persecuted; and INEC must not participate in this wickedness.
But most importantly, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Senator Natasha has been accused of phantom sexual harassment against some notable personalities without proving her case. This is the time for her to bring out incontrovertible evidence against Senator Godswill Akpabio.