Kogi: Natasha’s Triumph Over Political Traducers, Skewed Recall Process

Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan last week gave a bloody nose to her political enemies when the Independent National Electoral Commission declared that the petition for her recall did  not meet constitutional requirements thereby halting any further action. Adedayo Akinwale reports.

It was indeed a moment of respite for the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan when the well orchestrated political battle against her came to a halt last week following the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the petition for her recall process did not meet constitutional requirements. The electoral body was also emphatic when it said there shall be no further action against her.

The political travails of Akpoti-Uduaghan began when she accused President of the Senate, GodswillAkpabio of sexual harassment. Along the line, the Senate had suspended the Kogi lawmaker on March 6, 2025 for six months over alleged misconduct and refusal to comply with the chamber’s sitting arrangement during the plenary session on February 20, 2025.

As if that wasn’t enough,  her constituents, some of whom were believed to be sponsored by the former governor of the state, Yahaya Bello on Monday, March 24, stormed the headquarters of INEC in Abuja, where they demanded her immediate recall.

Following the receipt of the petition, the electoral body said the petition for the recall of  Akpoti-Uduaghan was not in compliance with the legal framework.

The commission explained that the petition from Kogi Central Senatorial District 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 (Wards) in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene.

Nevertheless, it said its immediate observation was 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  Regulations and Guidelines.

It noted that once the petition meets the requirements of submission, as contained in its regulations, it would commence the verification of the signatures in each polling unit in an open process restricted to registered voters that signed the petition only.

The Commission 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.

However, in a follow up statement, the commission confirmed that the required details of the petitioners had been provided in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission dated Wednesday, 26th March, 2025.

It was based on this that the electoral body wrote Akpoti-Uduaghan on the petition submitted by her constituents to recall her.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun in a statement noted that the same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the Commission’s website.

“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,” he said.

Expectedly, Akpoti-Uduaghan who was battle ready for the political war accused Akpabio and Bello of initiating her recall process using fake constituents.

The Senator described the recall attempt as a continuation of Bello’s political vendetta against her and therefore, challenged Bello to tell the world where he manufactured the names of those fake constituents calling for her recall.

While INEC continued to cross the ts and dot the Is on her recall process, Akpoti-Uduaghan in a show of force stormed her constituency last Tuesday where thousands of supporters from Kogi Central’s five local government areas gathered early in Ihima, Okehi LGA, to welcome her.

She visited her constituency despite police and the state government ban on rallies and processions. Natasha flew in a helicopter after she was informed that the state government in conjunction with the police have mounted a series of roadblocks to prevent her from visiting her constituency.

While addressing her supporters, Akpoti-Uduaghan advised the former governor to rather focus on clearing his name over allegations of fraudulent diversion of N89.2 billion, instead of attempting to destabilise the mandate given to her by the people of Kogi Central.

She added: “It is now very clear to the whole world how popular I am in my constituency. The powers that be did try to suppress the will of the people but my people emphatically said no. No to injustice, no to exploitation of women, no to fake recall, no to Yahaya Bello and his allies.

“They (my people) came out en masse to resist government intimidations. We thank them for the massive show of love. We also thank our oppressors because their actions have now made them more unpopular while we gained more support. As for me, I will do more for my people. I will not betray them. I will continue to give my best and they should be rest assured of our best representation all the time.”

In an interesting turn of events, INEC last week said after careful consideration, the petition has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution and therefore, no further action shall be taken on the recall of the Senator.

The Commission in a statement noted that it arrived at the conclusion after consideration and approval of the report of its physical count of the signatures/thumbprints forwarded with the petition in line with Clause 2(b) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024 at its meeting on Thursday.

It emphasised that a petition for the recall of a Senator must comply with the provision of Section 69(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which requires the signatures of more than one-half of the registered voters in the constituency.”

The commission said: “The total number of registered voters in the Kogi Central Senatorial District is 474,554. More than one-half of this figure (i.e. 50%+1) is 237,277+1 which is at least 237,278 voters.

“Across the 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas and five Local Government Areas that make up the Senatorial District, the Commission ascertained 208,132 signatures/thumbprints from the submission made by the petitioners.

“This translates to 43.86 per cent of the registered voters which falls short of the constitutional requirement by 29,146 signatories. Consequently, the petition has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution. Therefore, no further action shall be taken on the recall of the Senator.”

Olumekun stressed that in line with the provision of Clause 2(d) of the Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, the Commission has issued a Public Notice to that effect which is also copied to the presiding officer of the Senate.

Reacting to the development via a statement, Akpoti-Uduaghan described the decision to reject the recall process as a justice against injustice, adding that INEC has proven to be truly independent.

The Senator also commended the Commission for rejecting a fake process by sponsored groups and individuals to recall her from the Senate.

She said: “The voice of the people is the voice of God. Nobody, be it a former Governor Yahaya Bello or Senate President GodswillAkpabio and their associates can toy with the mandate freely given by the resolute people of Kogi Central without being put to shame.

“All along, I did not exercise any fear because I have a God that can never fail and I have people on my side. I commend the umpire for shaming the shameless agents of darkness and setting the record straight according to the laws of our land.

“To God be the glory, we have defeated them again. This development is another record-breaking against those who prefer coming from the back yard, the manipulators, election riggers, the violent merchants and their allies in Kogi Central and beyond.

“Please bear it in mind that your days are numbered in politics because the new era has come when people will no longer reckon or identify with evil politicians whose trademark are not more than violent, rigging and corruption.”

Afterall said and done, the rigorous process to recall  a lawmaker as stipulated in Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, would make it rather an impossible task to accomplish.

Be that as it may, Natasha has once again proven to be torn in Bello’s flesh and his political nemesis as far as Kogi politics is concerned. For the third time she has given a bloody nose to the “White Lion”.

Firstly, against all obstacles on her way, she contested the Senatorial election in Kogi Central during the 2023 general election. Secondly,  Though the election results were skewed against her, she won her mandate back through the court of law. Thirdly, she has also defeated Bello again in the bid to recall her. The fearless Akpoti-Uduaghan has once again proven to be the “White Lioness” of Kogi politics.