Residents of Kogi Central have dismissed the recent court injunction obtained by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, which restrains the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from receiving a petition for her recall.
According to them, the move is a clear indication that she has acknowledged her imminent removal.
Speaking on behalf of the constituents from the five local government areas of the senatorial district, the Kogi Central Renaissance Assembly (KCRA) criticized the senator’s approach.
They argued that individuals with questionable motives often make irreversible mistakes, citing what they described as errors in the legal action she pursued.
In a statement issued on Friday, KCRA stated that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s claim that the recall signatures were fictitious was an act of desperation.
They maintained that verifying the authenticity of the signatures was INEC’s responsibility, and her attempt to stop the process only exposed her fear of the outcome.
“It is amusing that someone who labeled the recall process a sham is now asking the court to prevent INEC from verifying the petition. If the signatures are truly fictitious, why not allow the process to prove it?” the statement read.
The group insisted that no amount of legal maneuvering would halt the recall process, asserting that the people of Kogi Central were determined to proceed with it.
“You cannot impose yourself on us. We, the constituents of Kogi Central, are standing firm on this recall. The courts are for everyone, but even you must realize that this move is a lost cause,” said KCRA Coordinator Adeku Joshua and Secretary Maleek Sule.
The statement further emphasized that the recall process was necessary to restore the dignity of the district, the state, and Nigeria as a whole.
“We, the Ebira people, do not condone blackmail or misconduct. This recall is about integrity, and we will see it through. Enough of embarrassing our community and the entire country with baseless accusations,” the statement concluded.
A Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, had on Friday granted an interim injunction restraining INEC, its officials, or agents from receiving or acting on any petition containing what Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan described as “fictitious signatures of purported members of the Kogi Central Senatorial District.”
