Tensions in Kogi Central have escalated as Ebira indigenes double down on their demand to recall embattled Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, dismissing claims that the move lacks majority backing.
In a fiery statement released Thursday, the Kogi Central Elites Forum, led by Alhaji Ibrahim Ibrahim and Prince Akerejola Johnson, insisted that the senator’s conduct had brought “international embarrassment to the region, leaving them with no choice but to remove her.
The recall advocates blasted Akpoti-Uduaghan’s supporters for peddling “deliberate mischief, rejecting allegations that the process was manipulated.
No one is sponsoring this recall. Our people are largely united on this cause. From the history of Ebiras, you know we cannot be deceived, the statement read.
At the heart of the controversy is the storm over Akpoti-Uduaghan’s refusal to take an assigned Senate seat, which spiraled into an explosive sexual harassment allegation against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Her accusers dismissed the claim as blackmail, calling her actions selfish” and “juvenile.
The group also sought to clarify INEC’s role in the recall process, accusing Akpoti-Uduaghan’s camp of distorting facts.
INEC has no official role until after this signature collection phase. We are the ones doing the recall. Once the required threshold is met, INEC steps in for verification,”they explained.
In a stunning rebuke, the forum declared that the senator needs to come home and learn the basics of lawmaking, dismissing her performance as mere content creation.
Ordinarily, we would never allow anyone to intimidate our daughter if she was in the right. But in this case, she disrespected the Senate, twisted the narrative, and introduced slants never before seen in its history, they added.
With the National Assembly now embroiled in controversy, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s fate hangs in the balance as the recall process gains momentum sparking heated debates over power, gender politics, and the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy.
