The effort to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central has successfully cleared six of the ten required hurdles, with opponents of the lawmaker now facing four more steps to finalize the recall process.

Under Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution and guidelines from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a petition for recall requires several stages.

According to the guidelines, the recall process involves a detailed petition, signature verification, and ultimately, a referendum to determine whether the senator should be recalled.

So far, opponents of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan have surmounted three of the hurdles, with seven remaining, including the critical step of verifying signatures.

INEC will issue a public notice for the verification of signatures, and if verified, a referendum will be held.

To proceed with a referendum, more than half of the registered voters in Kogi Central must participate, a hurdle made challenging by low voter turnout in previous elections.

“The conduct of a referendum introduces a major hurdle in the process as 50 per cent of registered voters must participate,” the report noted. “In Kogi Central, 237,277 voters, or half of the 474,554 registered voters, are required for the referendum to proceed.”

If a majority of voters back the recall, INEC will issue a Certificate of Recall, and the Senate President will oversee the removal of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan from office.

Despite the hurdles, the recall petition has sparked significant political debate, with some questioning the fairness of the process and the low voter participation in the area.

For now, it remains to be seen if the remaining steps will be cleared, potentially leading to a referendum on the future of the Kogi Central senator.