From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Transition Monitoring Group has described as embarrassing for Nigeria the recall attempt on Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, senator representing Kogi Central, saying it has implications on Nigeria’s democracy.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, the TMG chairman, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, described the swift move to recall her as a desperate attempt by political figures to silence her, following her public feud with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. TMG highlighted the need for a thorough investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of power. This is even as it commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a transparent process but noted that the recall effort seemed to be a political manoeuver rather than a genuine expression of the constituents’ dissatisfaction.
It argued that the Senate, like every other gathering of imperfect humans, was bound to have disagreements, and that indeed the entire National Assembly is not a stranger to these disagreements, which have occasionally resulted in physical confrontations and attacks.
It further pointed out that the ensuing allegations of sexual harassment, abuse of power and trampling on the right to perform legislative functions must be treated separately as all senators are equally elected by their respective constituents, and added that the leadership of the Senate must recognise the huge gender imbalance in the Senate and not continue to present itself as a misogynist institution against one of the few women in the 10th Senate.
“The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), has observed keenly the events involving the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpobio. While the events have been an embarrassment to the people of Nigeria, and a depiction of the leadership of the country in a very bad light, the manner and speed with which it snowballed into an attempt to recall Natasha is, without mincing words, an apparent display of desperation on the part of some so-called political gladiators to completely silent her.
“Clearly, she has informed Nigerians and the rest of the world that there were indeed underlying issues building up to the reallocation of seats and the altercation that ensued on the floor of the senate chambers. For every well-meaning Nigerian, this is the point where it is no longer a case of recurring disagreement among colleagues but a need to thoroughly investigate allegations of sexual harassment, abuse of power and trampling on her right to perform and carry out her duties as a senator.
“Unfortunately, the Senate has not given room for that thorough investigation to happen. As a matter of fact, the manner in which its leadership has approached the issue can best be described as a gang-up.
“Firstly, the Senate President failed to recuse himself and proceeded to preside over and stamped the suspension of Senator Natasha. The Chairman of the Ethics Committee described her petition as ‘dead on arrival’ with an emphasis on thrashing the petition on grounds of technicalities rather than guiding and allowing for due process to happen.
“A quick follow-up to her suspension saw an attempt to recall her. Again, Nigerians observed with perplexity, the crooked and dubious attempt at gathering signatures from her constituents to activate the recall process. Video evidence is in the media exposing how the perpetrators of the recall tried to deceive the constituents into collating their details under the guise of empowerment programmes.”
However, the TMG commended the INEC for conducting a transparent step by step process in the exercise up to the counting of the signatures collected from Kogi Central.
“It is worth noting that the entire efforts from the onset had been a mere charade and an aberration of section 69 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). For what it was worth, the entire effort was a waste of time, especially for the INEC.
“Recalling a lawmaker is predicated on the grounds of misrepresentation, underperformance and misconduct, not a tool for some disgruntled politicians to wield at will. In this instance, Natasha’s constituents even in the face of her struggles in the senate did not express dissatisfaction with her representation or performance. Who then engineered the recall? Who sponsored it? Is this what recall is all about? A mere tool for politicians to wield against opposition?
“Again, TMG is satisfied with the conduct of INEC, its dedication and commitment to a transparent process which upholds constitutionalism and due process. This is a clear demonstration of the functionality of democracy when democratic institutions uphold the rule of law rather than becoming tools for the alignment of political interests of a few people in power.
“However, TMG is very interested in how more than 50 percent of total registered voters in Kogi Central quickly turned up to sign the petition for the recall of a lawmaker in a country that has historically experienced a worrisome level of voter apathy. This occurrence calls for deeper insight that can only be brought about through thorough investigation.
“While it is noted that INEC has terminated the process at the stage of counting signatories to the petition as the number of signatories did not meet the constitutional requirements for further verification, the seeming fraud of harvesting voters’ details from anywhere to file the petition cannot be overlooked.”