The Independent National Electoral Commission on Thursday approved the revised regulations and guidelines for the recall of members of the National and State Assemblies and Councillors in the Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The commission said the development became necessary following a number of requests from different groups across the country for the recall of their representatives in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.

National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee Sam Olumekun, who disclosed this in a statement said some persons had requested the Commission to initiate the process of the recall on their behalf.

Olumekun said the process of recall is initiated by the voters in a constituency, noting that the commission only implements their request in line with Sections 69, 110, and 160 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Sections 2(c) and 113 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

“Accordingly, the Commission has reviewed the regulations and guidelines, providing a detailed procedure for recall. The 10-page document has been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for the guidance of prospective petitioners and for public information.

“We appeal to constituents interested in the recall of their elected representatives to be guided by the provisions of the regulations and guidelines in preparing and submitting their petitions to the Commission”, he stated.

The commission in the guidelines obtained by The Guardian revealed that a petition for recall should be presented to the Chairman of the Commission by representative(s) of the petitioners.

The commission noted that the petition shall be signed by more than one half of the persons, that is, at least one person above half registered to vote in the constituency of the member sought to be recalled, alleging loss of confidence in that member.

The document said: “Where half of the number of registered voters is not a whole number, the next whole number shall be regarded as one half of the registered voters.

“The signing of the petition may be by signatures or thumbprints of the petitioners.

“The names, Voter Identification Numbers (VIN) and signatures of the petitioners shall be arranged according to Polling Units in the constituency of the member sought to be recalled.

“For ease of communication, the name(s), contact address(es), phone number(s), and e-mail address(es) of the representative(s) of the petitioners should be clearly indicated in the covering letter forwarding the petition to the Commission.

“The Commission shall, upon receipt of the petition notify the member sought to be recalled, in writing, of the receipt of the petition. Such notification shall be delivered to his/her official address, copied to the presiding officer of the application legislature, and published on the Commission’s website. Ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one-half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the member’s constituency.”

“The list of signatories to the petition shall constitute the Register of Petitioners (Form EC41) for the purpose of any activity in this Regulation and Guidelines. (c} Where sub-paragraph 2(b) above is established, issue a public notice or announcement stating the day, time, location, and other details for the verification of the petition. (d) Where subparagraph 2(b) above is not established, issue a public notice to that effect and copy the Presiding Officer of the applicable legislature.

It noted that the electoral umpire would decline to conduct a referendum for the recall of the member if the result of the verification shows that not more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s Constituency (that is, at least one person above one half) endorsed the petition.

It, however, said it would conduct a referendum for the recall of the member where it has verified that more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency have endorsed the petition, which shall take place not later than 90 days from the date of receipt of the recall petition.