I know how Nigeria works – Natasha pinpoints loopholes in INEC recall process

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has said that she understands how Nigeria works.

Natasha, who represents Kogi Central senatorial district, expressed delight that the attempt to recall her from the Senate has been stalled.

While giving kudos and credit to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Natasha suggested that the commission should have dismissed the petition to recall her from the outset.

The senator made this known on Thursday while fielding questions on Channels TV's Politics Today programme.

DAILY POST reported that the petition seeking Natasha’s recall failed to meet the necessary constitutional requirements.

However, the senator pointed out loopholes that INEC needs to address.

She said: “I'm a senator, and I understand how Nigeria works. And for me, the most important thing is that this recall process has been stalled, and I give kudos and credit to INEC, even though I believe they should have thrown it out from the start.

“I think it was void of substance, because listen to what the gentleman said: there is no more intellectual act that says a petition should be discarded just because there is no address. But again, what if the address is false? The address provided is just five minutes away from me. I did send people, and there is no such address. Most of the streets in my hometown are not labelled.

“So the question for INEC is: what if the address is fake? And again, the cover letter of the petition was from the ‘Kogi Central Political Frontier', and we ran a check with CAC, and that organisation does not exist.

“So the question for INEC is: can an unregistered body sponsor a petition against a senator? I think these are loopholes that INEC needs to look into. They should probably strengthen the laws in that regard because, in my opinion, it should have been dismissed from the start.”