INEC faults recall petition against Senator Natasha

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reeled out some shortcomings in the petition seeking the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The constituents from Kogi Central Senatorial District had approached the commission to submit the petition contained in six bags having the signatures of over half 250,000 out of the 474,554 registered voters in the district.

INEC’s National Commissioner & Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, in a statement, said the petition failed to meet some requirements.

Olumekun explained that INEC had observed some discrepancies in the petition submitted against the embattled female senator.

He listed the shortfalls to include failure to provide a clear contact address, phone numbers, or email addresses for all their representatives, as required by Clause 1(f) of INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall.

According to him, the petition only included the lead petitioner’s phone number and a vague address listed as “Okene, Kogi State.”

"a recall is the prerogative of registered voters in a constituency who have lost confidence in their representative.

"If a petition meets all requirements, INEC will proceed with the verification process using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in an open and transparent manner.

"The petitioners to fulfill all submission requirements before it can take further steps in line with existing laws and guidelines" he said.

Olumekun , however, said INEC is attempting to reach the petitioners through alternative means to inform them of the deficiencies in their submission.

He assured the public that the electoral umpire remained committed to following due process in handling recall petitions.