Atedo Peterside, a business leader and founder of Stanbic IBTC, has reacted to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) decision to halt the recall process against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central in the Senate, suggesting that the attempt was “obviously rigged.”
“Every now and again somebody up there decides that hooligans will not always succeed. Let us wait for @inecnigeria to explain why the obviously rigged recall attempt re @NatashaAkpoti has failed,” Peterside wrote on his X account on Thursday.
His reaction follows INEC’s public notice on Thursday, confirming that the recall petition against Akpoti-Uduaghan did not meet constitutional requirements.
Read also: Mammoth crowd receives Natasha Akpoti in Kogi despite ban on rally
The commission disclosed that only 208,132 out of 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central signed the petition—falling short of the 50%+1 threshold mandated by Section 69(a) of the Nigerian Constitution.
INEC, in a statement signed by Rose Oriaran-Anthony, its secretary, declared that “no further action shall be taken on the petition.”
The commission cited Clause 2(d) of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Recall of a Member of the National Assembly, House of Assembly of a State or Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (2024) as the legal basis for its decision.
The recall attempt is the latest in a series of political challenges faced by Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was recently suspended from the Senate amid allegations of misconduct.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of the four women in the 10th Senate, has maintained she’s being punished for rejecting sexual advances from Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
