The Independent National Electoral Commission— INEC— on Wednesday in a statement released announced it wrote to the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Presiding Officer of the Senate Godswill Akpabio, confirming that the contact details of the petitioners’ representatives in the recall process have now been corrected.

This came after an amendment made by the constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District to address an earlier error in the recall petition.

Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, in the statement said that the updated contact information and other details has been submitted to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

“The Commission hereby confirms that the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission dated today Wednesday 26th March 2025.

“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the Senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address. The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the Senate and published on the Commission’s website.”

Adding that: “The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the Constituency. This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission.

“We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent.” Olumekun concluded.

The update came after INEC had raised concerns in an earlier statement on Tuesday, which pointed out that the petitioners had initially failed to provide the necessary contact details, such as addresses and phone numbers, as required under the Commission’s 2024 Regulations and Guidelines for Recall.

As a result of the amendment, INEC confirmed that it had sent an official letter to Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan informing her of the receipt of the recall petition. The letter was delivered to her official address and copied to the presiding officer of the Senate. The updated details were also made publicly available on INEC’s website

The outcome of this verification will determine the next steps in the recall procedure, which will be publicly disclosed in the coming days.

The petition, presented on behalf of the constituents by Charity Ijese, was received and stamped by INEC’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, on Monday at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

The recall petition followed a series of contentious events involving Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate on March 6 for alleged “gross misconduct” after a dispute with Akpabio.

She had previously accused Akpabio of sexual harassment.

The constituents, who claim to have met the constitutional requirements for the recall process, stated that over 200,000 registered voters, more than half of the district’s electorate, signed the petition.

The petition, titled “Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence,” calls for the Senator’s removal due to a series of allegations, including gross misconduct, abuse of office, and a pattern of deceitful behavior.

In their petition, the constituents explained, “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.”