Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents the Kogi Central District, has accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, of initiating her recall flopped process using fake constituents.
Despite a government ban on rallies and processions, Natasha was given a rousing welcome by supporters from her district’s five local council areas on Tuesday, who gathered at Ihima in Okehi Local Council Area to welcome the PDP lawmaker.
In a statement issued yesterday, she challenged Bello to tell the world where he manufactured the names of the fake constituents calling for her recall.
The senator alleged, “All available evidence and facts point directly to Bello as the mastermind behind the recall move”, citing Bello’s past actions before and during the 2023 General Elections when he was accused of orchestrating multiple attacks against her, then as a candidate.
Describeing the recall attempt as a continuation of Bello’s alleged political vendetta against her person, she said, “I will advise the former governor to rather focus on clearing his name over allegations of fraudulent diversion of N89.2 billion, instead of attempting to destabilise the mandate given to me by the people of Kogi Central.
“The former governor’s hands are already full with corruption allegations, yet he is still bent on frustrating the will of the people.
“His actions before and during the last general elections, where he sponsored numerous attacks against me, are well documented. This recall attempt is nothing but another ploy to undermine the people’s will,”
Meanwhile, a former Director of Voter Education at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, has said a recall process for lawmakers is akin to conducting three elections.
Osaze-Uzzi spoke on an Arise TV programme, yesterday.
“Money is necessary for all processes. It can be the corruptive influence of money that we were talking about. INEC will spend a lot because if it goes through the whole process, it is akin to conducting three elections,” he said.
He explained that the process begins with the verification of signatures, which must be done at the polling unit level.
“Verification officers have to go to the field, verify signatures, and all those who endorsed the petition must be present. It requires mobilization, printing materials, deploying personnel, and setting up logistics, which costs money,” Osaze-Uzzi added.
The ex-INEC official noted that voter turnout in Nigeria rarely exceeded 50 per cent, adding to the complexity of the recall process.
“People have to come forward to confirm their signatures, which requires further mobilisation. INEC will mobilise, the legislator being recalled will mobilise, and petitioners will also mobilise. And at the end of it all, INEC will have to demobilise, again, that’s money,” he said.
The Guardian
