By Emmanuel Oloniruha
A group of registered voters from Kogi Central Senatorial District on Monday submitted a petition to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately commence the recall process of suspended Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Senate.
The constituents, in a letter signed by the Lead Petitioner, Salihu Habib, submitted at INEC headquarters, Abuja on Monday, declared that they no longer have confidence in Akpoti-Uduaghan as their senator and representative in the National Assembly.
The petitioners, under the aegis of Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, urged INEC to act with urgency and impartiality in processing the petition, in the interest of democratic accountability, governance integrity and the peace and progress of Kogi people and Nigeria.
“We, the undersigned, being duly registered voters of the Kogi Central Senatorial District, hereby invoke our rights under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to formally demand the recall of Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Nigerian senate.
“In particular, this petition for the recall of Akpoti-Uduaghan is brought pursuant to Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) as well as INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall Petitions,’’ the petitioners stated.
They said that the petition arose from the constituents’ loss of confidence in the senator on grounds of gross misconduct in the senate, abuse of office, evasion of due process and lack of respect for the presiding officer.
According to them, the petition was signed by more than half of the registered voters in Kogi Central senatorial district.
“We hereby demand that INEC immediately commences the constitutional and procedural process of recall to remove Akpoti-Uduaghan from office and declare her seat vacant,’’ the petition stated.
Speaking with the newsmen after the submission of the petition, the lead petitioner expressed confidence that the process would be the first successful recall process in Nigeria.
“This will be the first recall that will be successful. The good people of Kogi Central have spoken with one voice.
“It is simple; we need a credible representative; we need a credible senator who can speak the minds of the good people of Kogi Central,’’ he said.
Habib denied the allegation that former Governor of Kogi, Yahaya Bello, was the one instigating the recall process.
“ Bello is not here. Habib is here. Many youths are here. Many women are here. I can’t see Yahaya Bello here,’’ he said.
A member of the group, Mrs Charity Omole, said that the entire people of Kogi Central senatorial district could not afford not to have a representative in the senate for the next six months.
“ We have come to recall her so that we can have a representative in the senate because as a people, we cannot afford not to have a representative in the senate arm for another one year.
“So we are here to tell INEC to please follow the constitutional process so that her recall process can begin; that is why we are here,’’ she said.
Omole said that the group had more than the required number of petitioners to begin the recall process.
She also denied being bankrolled by anybody, saying: “We are the ones who voted her and we are saying we don’t want her anymore.’’
Another petitioner, Hamza Yakubu, urged INEC to speedily swing into action and review the petition submitted to it on the commencement of the recall process, in line with the provisions of the constitution.
Yakubu also urged the people of the senatorial district to be calm as the recalling process continued.
“My message to the people of Kogi Central is for us to begin to understand that politics and good governance are things that should be driven by logic and not emotion.
“ We’ve seen a whole lot of things happening and we’ve seen the messages that are not appropriate that have been circulated. But the fact remains that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong.
“At the moment, what we are doing is what is right because we are doing what the constituents want from us; we are representing the constituents at the moment and what we are doing is right.
“So for now, my message to our people is to be calm. This recall process will be successful, just as everybody anticipated,’’ Yakubu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as at the time of filing this report, no official reaction had been made by INEC over the submission of the petition. (NAN)
