The Independent National Electoral Commission has dismissed the recall petition filed against the suspended senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

“The petition for the recall of the senator representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District has not met the requirement of Section 69(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended),” the electoral body wrote on X Thursday afternoon.

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan has faced political woes since February 28 when she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment and abuse of office.

She said Mr Akpabio’s ego was stung by her rejection of his sexual advances and tried to bully her in the Senate, a claim the Senate president has vehemently refuted.

Her colleagues suspended her for six months, withheld her salaries and security detail. But Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan reported the matter to the UN Inter-Parliamentary Union in New York where she said other lawmakers were conspiring against her to stand with Mr Akpabio.

Weeks after she made the sexual harassment allegations, videos circulated on social media showing long queues of individuals who claimed to be her constituents and waited to sign petition to recall her from the Senate.

Their grouse was that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was depriving them of representation during the period of her suspension and that the Senate was meant for serious business, not where sexual harassment claims should be made.

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s supporters said the so-called constituents were paid actors and pawns in a scheme to recall her. The lawmaker herself also said Mr Akpabio was colluding with people in her senatorial district to unseat her.