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Natasha’s Constituents Submit Petition To INEC For Her Recall

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Some constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District have submitted a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for the recall of Natasha Akpoti Uduaghan, the suspended lawmaker representing the district in the National Assembly.

The petition, presented by Charity Ijese, on behalf of the constituents, was received at the INEC headquarters, by the Commission’s Secretary, Rose Anthony, on Monday, March 24, 2025.

The petition was titled, ‘Constituents’ Petition for the Recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Grounds of Loss of Confidence’.

The constituents said, “In particular, this petition for the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is brought pursuant to Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), as well as INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall Petitions.”

They affirmed that Akpoti-Uduaghan emerged by virtue of an Appeal Court decision in October 2023 but said the petition arose as a result of their loss of confidence in her representation.

“This petition arises from our loss of confidence in the Senator on the grounds of gross misconduct, abuse of office, evasion of due process, and a pattern of deceitful behaviour that has not only embarrassed the people of Kogi Central but has also tarnished the integrity of the Nigerian Senate and our nation’s democratic institutions.

“By this petition, which we have made sure is signed by more than half of the registered voters in Kogi Central, we hereby demand that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately commence the constitutional and procedural process of recall to remove Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from office and declare her seat vacant,” the constituents said.

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The female federal lawmaker was involved in a seat arrangement dispute with Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The lawmaker accused Akpabio of sexual harassment and abuse of office. The Senate subsequently suspended her for six months for misconduct.

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IMF urges Nigeria to focus on most vulnerable while stabilising economy

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Nigerian government to accompany its economic stabilisation policies with targeted social welfare transfers to support the most vulnerable populations.

IMF Director of Communications, Julie Kozack, made this known during a routine press conference at the IMF headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

Kozack acknowledged the challenges many Nigerians faced and stressed the importance of prioritising support for vulnerable households.

“The authorities’ policies to stabilise the economy and promote growth are welcomed.

“However, they must be accompanied by targeted social transfers to support the most vulnerable populations. We recognise the extremely difficult situation that many Nigerians face,” she said.

She said that completing the rollout of cash transfers to vulnerable households and improving domestic revenue mobilisation should be key priorities for Nigeria.

Kozack also announced that IMF staff would visit Nigeria next week to prepare for the 2025 Article IV Consultation.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF conducts annual bilateral discussions with member countries.

As part of this process, a staff team visits the country, gathers economic and financial data, and engages with officials on economic policies and developments.(NAN)

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Tinubu Distorting Democracy, Weaponising Judiciary, Others – Prof Udenta

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The founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, Prof Udenta Udenta, on Thursday, accused the Bola Tinubu Presidency of dismantling democratic values and weaponing the judiciary, and the 1999 Constitution (as amended) against Nigerians.

Prof Udenta, a distinguished fellow of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, said the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State was a distortion of democratic institutions by the Tinubu government.

“The system that should protect democratic governance, you are weaponising them; the judiciary, the apparatus of the state, you are distorting, diluting and transmogrifying them in a way and manner that is shutting down democratic conversations.

“That is what you find as the legacy of the Bola Tinubu president and his political agents,” Prof Udenta said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.

The scholar said dismantling democratic principles isn’t by shooting guns but by misusing democratic instruments like the constitution and the judiciary.

“When you abandon the foundational norms of democracy and then you begin to use instruments you acquired in power to dismantle the guardrails that govern the democratic system, then democracy dies.

“It is not by firing a shot that democracy dies or crumbles, it is leveraging the guardrails like the constitution, like what was done in Rivers State, to abort democratic rules,” he said.
The scholar also accused Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd) of dismantling the levers of democracy with his suspension of all political appointees in the oil-rich state.

“You find the sole administrator strutting around Port Harcourt, dismantling democratic infrastructure,” he said.

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Prof Udenta described what is practised in Rivers State as a “hybrid regime which is a part of competitive authoritarianism” being deployed to “manacle the spirit of a nation and abort democratic institutions at all levels” including labour unions, media houses, political parties, and civil societies.

Prof Udenta regretted that the quality of the lives of Nigerians in the last two years has so depreciated. He lamented that there is widespread hunger and poverty in the land with escalating food inflation usurping the income of average Nigerians.

“There is poverty in the land, there is hunger everywhere, inflation is soaring, criminality and terrorism and all manners of insecurity pervade the nation, and the government is bemused like this current one,” he said.

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Bill To Create Prime Minister Office Passes Second Reading At Reps

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A bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for the office of the Prime Minister as head of government and the office of President as head of state and to provide for a framework for the mode of election to the said offices, has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.

It is among 32 Constitution amendment bills that scaled second reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

Also among the bills is a bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for specific seats for women in the national assembly and state houses of assembly.

Another is a bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to reduce the lengthy period for determination of pre-election petition matters and provide for the establishment of pre-election tribunals for pre-election matters and regulate the process of suspending a member of the national assembly from legislative duties.

A bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to review the requirements that qualifies persons to be elected as president and vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, governors and deputy governor, passed second reading as well.

A bill for an act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to review the status of the Federal Capital Territory as regards the election of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and bills for the creation of Wan State and Gobir State also passed second reading.

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This brings the total number of Constitution Amendment Bills passed so far through second reading to 113.

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