Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator for Kogi Central, expressed satisfaction after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected a petition to recall her from the Senate.
Earlier today, the panel stated that the recall petition did not meet the criteria of the 1999 Constitution.
According to INEC, the number of residents who signed the petition against the suspended member fell short of the constitutional requirement of 50 percent of registered voters in the constituency.
In a Facebook post, Akpoti-Uduaghan characterised the event as a success and dedicated it to Nigerians.
“On God it’s victory for the people of 🇳🇬. One battle down, two more to go,” the lawmaker wrote.
“Deep gratitude to my beloved husband, awesome support team, magnificent people of Kogi Central and great people of Nigeria at large. INEC Nigeria, you did well.”
On March 24, some Kogi central district members petitioned INEC to recall Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Senate.
Charity Omole, a constituent representative, stated that they petitioned to recall the senator since Kogi Central could not afford to have a representative in the Senate after her suspension.
“We have come to recall her so that we can have a representative in the senate. We are here to tell lNEC to please follow the constitutional process for a recall so that a recall process can begin,” Omole had said.
“We submitted the petition, and it has been received. All other documents have been received.
“We are the ones that voted her, and we don’t want her anymore because we cannot afford not to have a representative. Nobody is bankrolling us. Nobody is having any personal issue with her. It is just what it is. The game is the game.”
She stated that there are 488,000 registered voters in Kogi Central, with more than 250,000 signing the recall petition.
However, INEC stated that the petitioners did not submit their contact information.
On March 26, INEC stated that it had alerted Akpoti-Uduaghan of the petition by constituents demanding her recall from the national legislature.
The commission said it had also received the applicants’ contact information.
Speaking at her homecoming rally in Kogi on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused the electoral board of prejudice in her recall campaign.
“What I see INEC doing is aiding and guiding petitioners on how to perfect their illicit acts,” she said.
“The first time the petition was submitted, they didn’t have address and phone numbers, so INEC went out to guide them on how to submit information that will perfect their petition.
“And what did they do? The petitioners, who were from the other party, the APC, submitted a letterhead. What was the name of it? Kogi Central Political Frontier. And the address there was number 4, Oboroke.”
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