The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written to notify Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi central, about the petition by constituents seeking her recall from the national assembly.

INEC said it has also received the contact details of the petitioners.

“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,” the letter reads.

“The notification is in line with the provisions 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. Thank you.”

The letter was signed by Ruth Oriaran Anthony, secretary to the commission.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, INEC said it has now received the updated contact details from representatives of petitioners seeking to recall the senator.

In the statement, Sam Olumekun, INEC’s national commissioner and chairman of information and voter education, said a letter notifying the senator of the petition has been delivered to her official address, copied to the senate presiding officer, and published on the commission’s website.

“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,” Olumekun said.

“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.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexually harassing her.

The allegation came in the wake of her seating arrangement altercation between Akpabio and the Kogi central senator at the red chamber

She was subsequently suspended from the senate for six months for “gross misconduct” over the incident.

The constituents behind the recall move also alleged her of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceitful behaviour”.

The senator has denied wrongdoing and called the recall effort a “coordinated suppression” of her voice.

Shops and goods estimated at millions of naira have been destroyed by a night fire that razed a market on the popular Iweka Road, close to Ochanja market in Onitsha, the Anambra State capital.

The fire, which started at 08:30pm on Tuesday, razed shops that had furniture materials such as leathers, foams, and others.

Although the cause of the fire has yet to be ascertained, it was gathered that the fire raged for several minutes before the arrival of the firefighters as some of the traders had already gone home before the fire started.

Residents and sympathisers were seen trying to salvage some of the remnants of the goods in the shops while calling on the affected traders to come back to the market.

Confirming the fire incident on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Anambra State Fire Service, Chukwudi Chiketa, said the agency received a distress call at 09:40pm on Wednesday and deployed a crew of firemen and firefighting equipment to the scene.

According to Chiketa, the crew stopped the fire from further escalation.

….Says Ibas only Accountable To Tinubu,Wike Only

The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) in the United States has rejected the appointment of Ibok-Ete Ibas, a retired vice-admiral, as sole administrator of Rivers state.

BACKGROUND

On March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, citing the protracted political crisis and vandalisation of oil facilities.

The president suspended Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers state governor, Ngozi Odu, his deputy, and all house of assembly members for six months.

Tinubu also appointed Ibas as the sole administrator for Rivers state.

On March 20, the senate and the house of representatives controversially ratified Tinubu’s request for the emergency rule.

The presidency had said the decision to prevent further escalation of the political crisis in south-south state.

A statement on Wednesday by Lloyd Ukwu, NADECO USA president, said Ibas would only be accountable to Tinubu, Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory(FCT), and not the people of Rivers state.

Ukwu claimed that Tinubu lacks the constitutional authority to suspend Fubara and appoint a sole administrator, describing the appointment as “illegitimate”.

“Nigeria operates as a federation, with Rivers State as a sovereign entity, and Tinubu, as President, lacks the constitutional authority to unilaterally suspend an elected governor like Fubara,” he said.

“Rivers State is not a subordinate institution, neither is it a High School and Tinubu is not its overseer and not the Principal of a high school who can suspend a student willy-nilly.

“In a democracy, sovereignty resides with the citizens, not with an unelected administrator or an aspiring autocrat or want-to-be civilian dictator in Abuja.

“Governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed—leaders are entrusted with the power to serve the people, not to rule over them by imposing an administrator over them.

“The people of Rivers State exercised their democratic right in 2023 by electing Siminalayi Fubara as their governor.

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“They did not choose an imposed administrator. NADECO therefore demands the immediate resignation of this illegitimate appointee.

“True democracy requires that governance be rooted in the people’s will, expressed through free and fair elections.

“This imposed administrator is accountable not to Rivers people but to Tinubu, Akpabio, Kereke-Ekun, and Wike. His allegiance lies with these political actors, not with the citizens he claims to govern.

“The principle of ‘Power to the People’ is enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution and international human rights instruments, including the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Upholding this principle, NADECO insists that Rivers people must completely and resolutely reject this illegal administrator, forcing his resignation. Anything less is unacceptable.”