IN Nigeria, voters have the power to remove a lawmaker from office via a ‘recall’, but it’s a complicated process.
On Monday, March 24, a group from Kogi Central submitted a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recall the suspended senator representing their region, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
The petition, dated March 21, 2025, was submitted at INEC headquarters in Abuja by a group calling themselves ‘Concerned Kogi Youth and Women’.
Speaking on their behalf, Charity Ijoshe Omole, said they had lost confidence in Natasha because of “gross misconduct” that led to her suspension from the Senate.
Omole argued that the district couldn’t afford to be without representation in the Senate for six months.
The petitioners stated that their request to recall Akpoti-Uduaghan was based on Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and INEC’s guidelines for recall petitions.
This attempt to remove the senator has already caused concern among Nigerians, with many suggesting that political actors are behind it
The ICIR reported that the Nigerian Senate suspended Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months claiming she had broken its rules.
Despite a court order preventing the suspension, the Senate went ahead, citing breaches of its standing orders.
The move has been criticised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), opposition parties, and various lawyers, who argued that the suspension was hasty and unfair.
The ICIR reported on February 20th that Akpoti-Uduaghan caused an uproar in the Senate when she found her seat had been changed without prior notice
She resisted the relocation, arguing that it was an attempt to silence her.
Her refusal led to a heated argument with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who ordered security staff to remove her from the chamber
Following this seating dispute, the Senate voted to refer Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for a disciplinary review. This committee later recommended her suspension for six months.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension came just days after she accused the Senate President of sexual harassment
How to recall a lawmaker in Nigeria
According to INEC, Nigeria Constitution and the Electoral Act gave the electoral body the authority to oversee recall proceedings.
Specifically, Sections 69 and 110 of the Constitution and Section 116 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) empower INEC to conduct recall proceedings against members of the National Assembly, State House of Assembly, or the Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The process of recalling a senator in Nigeria involves six key steps:
- Starting the recall: A petition must be started by registered voters in the MP’s constituency. It needs signatures from at least 50% of the voters, stating the reasons for the recall.
- Submitting the petition: The petition is then submitted to INEC for them to check.
- Verifying the signatures: INEC checks the signatures to make sure they are genuine.
- Holding a recall vote: If the petition is verified, INEC organises a vote within 90 days. This allows voters to decide if the lawmaker should be removed.
- Announcing the result: If a majority vote for the recall, INEC confirms this and sends the result to the speaker of the relevant parliament.
- By-election: Following this, a by-election is held to fill the now vacant seat
INEC flags gaps in recall petition
According to INEC, if a petition does not meet up with the requirements, the petitioners are notified accordingly, but they can represent the petition if they so wish.
This was the case in the matter of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan. INEC raised concerns over gaps in the petition seeking her recall.
While the electoral body acknowledged receiving the petition, which it said was accompanied by six bags of documents purportedly containing the signatures of over half of the district’s 474,554 registered voters, it stated that there was omission of contact addresses and phone numbers of the petitioners’ representatives.
In a press statement on Tuesday, March 25, INEC stated that the petitioners’ representatives failed to provide their verifiable contact addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses, except for a number belonging to the lead petitioner.
The INEC deemed the only address provided by the petitioners, “Okene, Kogi State,” too vague for official correspondence.
It is noteworthy that despite being enshrined in the Constitution, no legislator has been successfully recalled since 1999.
INEC notifies Natasha
By press time, the electoral umpire confirmed it had notified the embattled senator of the recall petition.
The notification, dated March 26, was issued by the INEC’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran Anthony.
In the letter addressed to the senator and copied to the presiding officer of the Senate, INEC confirmed receiving a petition from her constituents seeking her recall from the National Assembly.
“Pursuant to Section 69 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I write to notify you of the receipt of a petition from representatives of registered voters in your constituency seeking your recall from the Senate.
“This notification is in line with the provision of Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall, 2024. This letter is also copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and simultaneously published on the Commission’s website,” the letter read.
In another letter, INEC confirmed that it had received a letter providing the contact details of the petitioners’ representatives.
A reporter with the ICIR
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