Kogi Central resident Sandra Umar says the recall process for Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan will proceed once conditions are fulfilled.
In March, a few Kogi Central constituents petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan after she was suspended from the Senate for six months.
They said that they couldn’t afford to be without a senator throughout the suspension.
The petition to recall Akpoti-Uduaghan was ruled to have violated the constitution by INEC.
According to the electoral umpire, 208,132 of the 474,554 registered voters in the constituency signed the petition. This amounts to 43.86% of the minimum number of voters in the constituency who must be registered to vote, as required by the constitution.
The electoral board further stated that a lawmaker’s recall rights are unrestricted by the constitution.
Umar, one of the petitioners, stated that the procedure was not stopped when she was interviewed on Television Continental (TVC) on Friday.
“What I know very well is that INEC said it was inadequate doesn’t mean that the process had been put on a halt. We’re believing that once we’re able to meet up with the level of compliance that they need for it to be adequate, the process will definitely take its course,” Umar said.
Umar said that if Akpoti-Uduaghan had listened to her chamber colleagues and expressed regret, she could have been spared suspension.
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Additionally, the petitioner stated that the senator’s allegation of sexual harassment is “a personal thing until verifiable evidence is available.”
“So what we know is that she has been given a suspension for six months, and that is tentative for one year. And that means that we’re going to be out of the dividends of democracy for that period of time,” she said.
