The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Tuesday that the petitions submitted for the recall of the suspended Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, lacked important details to kick-start the process.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Sam Olumekun, INEC noted 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.
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INEC said it noted the missing details during its weekly meeting held on Tuesday in which Mrs Akpto-Uduaghan’s recall was discussed.
Akpoti-Udughan’s recall
PREMIUM TIMES reported on Tuesday that some voters, under the aegis of Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, submitted a petition for the recall of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
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In a letter addressed to the chairperson of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu, the group said they had lost confidence in her representation at the National Assembly and, therefore, asked the commission to commence the process of recalling her.
“Kindly recall that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan emerged as our Senator by verdict of the Court of Appeal, Abuja on Tuesday October 31, 2023 which affirmed the Peoples Democratic Party PDP candidate as winner of the February 25, 2023 Kogi Central Senatorial election,” the letter to INEC read in part.
INEC Speaks
INEC 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.
It stated that the petition submitted against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan 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.
It added 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 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 statement said.
INEC also 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.”
It, however, said 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.
INEC’s Recall Process
The commission 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.
It said 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),” INEC said.
“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.”
Legal framework for recall
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 –
(a) 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; and
(b) 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.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s ordeal
The Senate, on 6 March, suspended Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for six months following the recommendations of its ethics, privileges and public petitions committee.
The decision of the upper chamber followed her alleged misconduct during a plenary session on 20 February and her refusal to adhere to its sitting arrangement.
It imposed several penalties on Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, including withdrawing all her security aides and closing her office in the National Assembly.
She was also asked to hand over all properties of the Senate in her possession to the Clerk to the National Assembly, while she was also prohibited from entering the premises of the federal legislature during the period of suspension.
The Senate also suspended her salary and allowances and banned her from presenting herself as a senator locally and internationally.
The upper chamber, however, said it may consider recalling her if she submits a written apology.
However, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan has suggested that she was being persecuted for accusing the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of sexual harassment.
Mr Akpabio has denied the allegations though the Kogi senator has maintained her claims.
She initially submitted a sexual harassment petition against Mr Akpabio to the Senate but it was rejected on the basis that a sitting senator cannot sign a petition.
Days later, another petition signed by one Zubairu Yaqubu, who described himself as a concerned Nigerian citizen from Kogi Central Senatorial District, accused Mr Akpabio of harassing Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan sexually. It also accused him of abuse of office and obstruction of legislative duties.
On 11 March, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan externalised her case by taking it to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
She told the IPU at the meeting that her suspension was unlawful and an attempt to silence her for making allegations of sexual harassment against Mr Akpabio.
Earlier in the month, PREMIUM TIMES reported that some Kogi Central constituents condemned Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension from the upper chamber.
The constituents expressed displeasure with the possibility of not being represented in the Senate for six months.
Past failed processes
Recalling legislators is one of the rights conferred on of members of senatorial districts and constituencies to hold them accountable.
However, there has not been a single case of successful recall since 1999 when democracy was restored in the country.
No fewer than six attempts to recall federal lawmakers have failed in the last 26 years of the nation’s democracy.
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In 2016, some constituents in Borno South Senatorial District attempted to recall their senator, Ali Ndume, citing poor representation and insensitivity to their plight. It did not, however, succeed because it was resisted by the senator’s loyalists. Subsequently, the matter died naturally.
In 2018, the attempt to recall former senator for Kogi West, Dino Melaye, failed following a low turnout for the verification of signatures of petitioners.
At the end of the exercise, only 18,742 out of 189,870 signatories to the recall petition at the time could be verified by the commission hence the process could not continue.
There were moves to also recall other lawmakers, including Farouk Lawan, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Datti Mohammed, and Chris Ngige, but all did not advance for one reason or the other.
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