By A team of Reporters
– Natasha’s constituents submit petition to recall her
– Court vacates order, seeks accelerated recall process
– Why previous attempts to recall lawmakers failed
Despite distributing tricycles and bags of rice to her constituents, some registered voters from Kogi Central Senatorial District on Monday submitted a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the recall of their Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The voters, under the aegis of Concerned Kogi Youth and Women, submitted the petition at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
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The petition, entitled “Constituents Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on the grounds of Loss of Confidence,” was addressed to the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu.
It said, “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.
It said, “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.
“In particular, this petition for the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is brought pursuant to Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended), as well as INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall Petitions.
“Kindly recall that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan emerged as our Senator by verdict of the Court of Appeal, Abuja on Tuesday October 31, 2023 which affirmed the Peoples Democratic Party PDP candidate as winner of the February 25, 2023 Kogi Central Senatorial election.
“This petition arises from our loss of confidence in the Senator on the grounds of gross misconduct, abuse of office, evasion of due process and a pattern of deceitful behaviour that has not only embarrassed the people of Kogi Central constituency but has also tarnished the integrity of the Nigerian Senate and our nation’s democratic institutions.
“By this petition, which we have made sure is signed by more than one-half of the registered voters in Kogi Central, we hereby demand that the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC immediately commences the constitutional and procedural process of recall to remove Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from office and declare her seat vacant.”
Vote of no confidence
The leader of the group, Charity Omole, told journalists after submitting the petition that they had lost confidence in Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.
‘We have lost confidence in her because of her gross misconduct that led to her suspension in the Senate and we the Kogi Central not to be represented.
“We have come to recall her because we cannot afford not to be represented. This petition is from Concerned Kogi Youth and Women.
“We, the people of Kogi Central, voted her in, and we are here to recall her. We have 488,000 registered voters and as I speak to you now, we have more than 250,000 voters who have signed for her recall,” Ms Omole said.
Section 69 of the Constitution states that: A member of the Senate or the House Representatives may be recalled as such a member if –
(a) there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition on that behalf signed by more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member; and
(b) the petition is thereafter, in a referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission within ninety days of the date of receipt of the petition, approved by a simple majority of the votes of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency.
Recall that a Federal High Court in Lokoja had, on last Friday, restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from receiving petitions for the purpose of initiating a recall process against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Justice Isa Dashen gave the order after listening to the application moved by Smart Nwachimere, of West-Idahosa, SAN & Co, counsel for the applicants.
The applicants, Anebe Jacob Ogirma, John Adebosi, Musa Adeiza, Ahmed Usman, and Maleek Yahaya, had through their counsel sued INEC over the alleged ongoing recalling process of Sen Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.
However, the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Monday vacated the ex-parte injunction granted to Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on 20 March.
NAN reports that the judge, Isa Dashen of the Federal High Court, who gave the order setting aside the injunction he granted, also ordered for the acceleration of the case.
Mr Dashen had on Thursday granted an interim injunction restraining INEC, its staff, agents, privies or assigns from receiving, accepting or acting on any petition containing signatures of members of Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The court also stopped INEC from conducting any referendum upon such a petition for the purpose of initiating a recall process of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan as senator pending the determination of the motion on notice to the same effect.
But INEC, through its counsel, Abdullahi Aliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, made an oral application for the setting aside of the ex parte injunction granted Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan and for an accelerated hearing of the case.
Mr Aliyu argued that the Federal High Court, by provisions in the Nigerian constitution, does not have the jurisdiction to stop a constitutional body like INEC from carrying out its constitutional function.
“I hereby make an oral application by virtue of the pronouncement made by the Court of Appeal in the case between EFCC v Bello for the interim injunction to be discharged.
“Also, under Order 26 rule 5(1) of the Federal High Court, we strongly apply for the accelerated hearing of the case,” he argued.
The counsel for the applicants, West Idahosa, a SAN, objected to the application for the vacation of the interim injunction granted to Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Mr Idahosa argued that when an issue of illegality is raised by complainants as in the plaintiffs of the case, a constitutional duty could be restrained.
“This is because every rule has an exception. More so, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that when a case of illegality is brought before a court, the court will first look at it to be sure whether it’s true.
“The plaintiffs in this matter said that there’s an illegality of forgery backed with a valid Affidavit before this honourable court,” he said.
Mr Idahosa said the court was inherent to do justice by provisions of section 6(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He, however, asked the court not to allow the application for vacation of the institution.
Mr Dashen, in his ruling, after listening to both parties, granted the application and vacated the interim order as well as ordered for the acceleration hearing of the case.
He adjourned the case to 9 April for hearing.
Why previous attempts to recall lawmakers failed
Since the return of democracy to the country 25 years ago, several attempts have been made by different constituents to recall their elected representatives.
In all, the attempts had failed like pack of cards.
Dino Melaye, then Senator for Kogi west senatorial district, described it as “a comedy of errors”, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed a date for the commencement of his recall.
The commission notified Melaye of the petition from his constituents and said it would issue a public notice stating the day, time, location and other details for the verification of signatures collected against him.
Four previous attempts were made to recall lawmakers with all failing, largely because the referendums conducted in that respect did not meet the requirements.
George Okoye
The first shot at recalling a lawmaker started in 2000 with Okoye, a member representing Njikoka-2 Constituency in the House of Representatives.
After legal tussles between the lawmaker and INEC, the commission proceeded with the process but a low turnout of registered voters expected to ‘stamp the quit notice’ stalled it.
Simon Lalong
Lalong, then speaker of the Plateau state assembly and current governor of the state, was next in line.
A representative of Shendam Constituency, his constituents initiated a process to recall him.
Although he attempted to stop it when he filed a suit, alleging that the signatures collected for his recall were “not genuine and authentic,” the commission was later able to proceed with it.
But his recall process failed. Just as in the case of Okoye, the required number of voters needed for the recall could not be found.
Farouk Aliyu
There was also the case of Aliyu, then member representing Birnin-Kudu/Buji federal constituency of Jigawa in the House of Representatives.
Like in the previous cases, less than the required number of voters turned up in the referendum.
Umar Jibril
Next in line was Jibril, a member representing Lokoja/Kogi/Koton Karfe federal constituency, whose constituents had reportedly said they no longer want as their representative.
However, his was smeared in controversies as some of the constituents filed a counter-petition to INEC, alleging that their signatures were forged and as such they were not in support of the recall process as originally claimed.
Melaye raised alarm that the names of dead people were on the recall list, but his opponents were adamant.
What did they say was his crime? The constituents, led by one Cornelius Olowo, said the move to recall Melaye was based on his “abysmal performance”.
“In the last two years, some senators have been meeting with their people quarterly. They update them on what has been happening and seek their contributions on issues and their aspirations to be presented to the senate,” he once told reporters.
