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Promises to commence scrutiny of submitted list of signatories
By Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The recall proceedings against the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, took a dramatic twist on Wednesday following the revelation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it has formally written to notify her about the recall proceedings against her.
The electoral body, in a statement by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, also revealed that it will commence the next stage of the recall proceedings.
The next stage, according to the electoral body, will be to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the constituency.
INEC also disclosed that the outcome of the scrutiny, which will be made public, shall determine the next step it will take in the recall process.
Reassuring Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent, the statement read: “Further to the statement issued yesterday, Tuesday 25th March 2025, the Commission hereby confirms that the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission dated today Wednesday 26th March 2025.
“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the Senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address. The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the Commission’s website.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the Constituency. This will be done in the coming days.
“The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission. We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent,” the statement read.