A group of registered voters from the Kogi Central Senatorial District has submitted a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking the recall of the suspended senator representing the district at the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The petition, dated March 21, 2025, was submitted on March 24, 2025, at the INEC headquarters in Abuja by the group, Concerned Kogi Youth and Women.
Charity Ijoshe Omole, the leader of the group, stated that the people of Kogi Central have lost confidence in the senator due to her alleged misconduct, which led to her suspension from the Senate, leaving the district unrepresented.
“We have lost confidence in her because of her gross misconduct, which led to her suspension in the Senate, and now we, the people of Kogi Central, are left unrepresented,” Omole said. “We cannot afford to be without representation. This petition is from Concerned Kogi Youth and Women. We, the people of Kogi Central, voted for her, and we are here to recall her. We have 488,000 registered voters, and as of now, over 250,000 voters have signed the petition for her recall.”
In the petition addressed to INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, and titled “Constituents Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,” the petitioners stated: “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 Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Nigerian Senate.”
The petition further referred to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s emergence as senator following a Court of Appeal ruling on October 31, 2023, which affirmed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate as the winner of the February 25, 2023, Kogi Central Senatorial election.
The petitioners highlighted their dissatisfaction with Akpoti-Uduaghan’s conduct, citing “gross misconduct, abuse of office, evasion of due process, and a pattern of deceitful behavior.”
They argued that her actions have not only embarrassed the people of Kogi Central but also damaged the integrity of the Nigerian Senate and the country’s democratic institutions.
