The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on Thursday that the petition seeking to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, has fallen short of constitutional requirements.

In a statement following its regular weekly meeting, INEC confirmed it had completed the verification process for the recall petition, determining that the signatures collected were insufficient to proceed with the recall process.

“The petition for the recall of the senator representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended),” INEC stated on its official X (formerly Twitter) account.

According to the electoral body, a valid recall petition requires signatures from more than half of the registered voters in the constituency. With 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central Senatorial District, at least 237,278 signatures were needed to meet the constitutional threshold.

However, INEC’s verification process counted only 208,132 valid signatures across the 902 polling units in the district’s five local government areas. This represents 43.86% of registered voters, falling short by 29,146 signatures.

“Consequently, the petition has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution. Therefore, no further action shall be taken on the recall of the senator,” the Commission declared.

INEC emphasized its commitment to fairness throughout the process, outlining the steps taken since receiving the petition. These included verifying the petition’s initial compliance with submission requirements, formally notifying Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate leadership of the petition, and conducting a thorough verification of the submitted signatures.

The Commission has issued a public notice regarding its decision and published a detailed breakdown of the signature verification results by local government area on its website and social media platforms.