The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that Nigerian law does not impose a limit on how many times a lawmaker can face a recall petition.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, made the statement while discussing the issue on Channels Television’s Politics Today program.
According to Naija News, this statement comes after a failed attempt to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central.
Oyekanmi explained, “The law does not specify how many times a lawmaker can be recalled. Section 69 of the constitution outlines the process but does not restrict the number of attempts.”
For a recall petition to succeed, it must secure signatures from at least 50 percent plus one of the registered voters in the affected constituency.
The initial recall petition against Akpoti-Uduaghan fell short of this requirement, with the signatures not meeting the necessary threshold.
A group led by Charity Omole had submitted the petition, claiming over 250,000 signatures from Kogi Central’s 488,000 registered voters. However, INEC found the petition incomplete, as it lacked essential contact details for the petitioners.
INEC’s response to the petition has been a source of controversy. Some have accused the electoral commission of bias, with Akpoti-Uduaghan alleging that INEC was assisting the petitioners in perfecting their submission.
Oyekanmi, however, refuted these claims. He clarified, “There is nowhere in the law that says INEC should reject a petition simply because the cover letter lacked an address.”
Despite the accusations, Oyekanmi reiterated that INEC acted within legal bounds and emphasized that the recall process is entirely constitutional, with no cap on how many attempts can be made as long as the required criteria are met.
Article updated 4 weeks ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
