Kogi Central constituents to go ahead with Natasha’s recall process

Some determined constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District on Thursday vowed to press ahead with the recall process of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the National Assembly.

They insisted that they would fine-tune the process.

The constituents, in a statement issued on Thursday by one Salihu Habib, said there was no going back on their resolve to bring the Kogi senator back home.

They, however, thanked the Independent National Electoral Commission for validating 208,132 (43.86 percent) signatures in the petition earlier submitted for Akpoti-Uduaghan’s recall.

The latest development followed INEC’s declaration that there were defects in the petition presented by the constituents.

INEC had, in a statement on its X handle on Thursday said the petition failed to meet the minimum requirement prescribed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

READ ALSO: FHC CJ re-assigns Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suit against Akpabio, others after judge’s withdrawal

The constituents, who are registered voters of Kogi Central, said they had mobilised more than the 50 percent plus one threshold of registered voters and submitted their petition with full documentation.

They noted that the validation of 43.86 percent by INEC was a confirmation that Kogi Central constituents had rejected the senator.

The statement read: “Apparently, INEC cancelled not less than 35,000 signatures from the administrative signatures collected.

“We will liaise with INEC within the full ambit of the constitution and regulations to demand transparency in the handling of our petition.

“We have utmost confidence in the commission not to subject the recall process to ambiguity or administrative opacity.”

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