•Says PDP is weak because its leaders are Compromised

•INEC notifies Kogi senator of recall process, acknowledges receipt of petitioners’ details

Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale, Sunday Aborisade in Abuja, Emma Okonji, Agnes Ekebuike in Lagos and Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the current leadership of the National Assembly of corruption.

Atiku spoke in an interview with ARISE News Channels.

The former vice president’s comments came as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had written the suspended senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, of the petition submitted by her constituents to recall her.

Besides, there was tension in the senate yesterday over the interrogation of the senator for Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, following a petition against him by Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had asked the police to investigate Karimi over claims that the National Assembly had been infiltrated by Russia’s KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), the former Soviet secret agency now rebranded FSB.

Akpoti-Uduaghan denied claims that she had abandoned her petition, the same way she denied claims by the police that she had rebuffed invitation to shed light on her petition.

Meanwhile, a group, Action Collective, called for the immediate resignation of Akpabio and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen, to allow for an impartial investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Akpabio. 

Atiku also told ARISE News he was surprised at the manner in which the senate approved the state of emergency declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rivers State.

He said, “I was not surprised, because I know the leadership is corrupt and I have no apologies for saying that”.

The former vice president went on to narrate how he visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo after winning the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket in 2019, and how Obasanjo advised him to pick his running mate from the South-east zone.

He stated, “In 2019, Obasanjo first suggested Ngozi-Okonjo-Iweala and later suggested the current Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, as my running mate, but, unfortunately, none of them was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and then he suggested Peter Obi and I accepted, because he was a member of PDP at that time.”

Atiku, however, said the party members were not pleased with the selection process in 2019, hence, he threw it open to the party to select his running mate in the 2023 general election.

He said his party selected three names for him to choose from for his running mate.

According to him, the party selected former governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa; former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Edom Emmanuel, and he settled for Okowa, being the number one on the list.

But when asked if he had any regret for not picking Wike as his running mate for the election, Atiku said he had no regret.

Fielding questions on the coalition involving himself, Nasir El-Rufai, and Peter Obi, and who might likely emerge the presidential candidate of the coalition, Atiku said the three of them would contest the party’s presidential ticket and whoever emerged winner would get the support of others.

Emphasising that Nigeria needed experienced and credible leadership, he said in the country’s political history, particularly since the return to democracy in 1999, he had not seen Nigeria in more acute need of experienced and credible leadership than now.

Atiku expressed concern over the handling of party issues, including the suspension of Akpoti-Uduaghan by the senate, saying, “PDP is weak, because we have a compromised leadership in the party, and there’s no doubt about that.”

Atiku’s remarks signal a continued effort to position himself as a key opposition figure, challenging both the ruling party and internal forces within PDP.

His statements are likely to spark controversy, especially ahead of the 2027 general election.

Alleged KGB infiltration: Police Quiz Senator Karimi over Natasha’s Petition

There was tension in the upper chamber over the interrogation of the senator for Kogi West Senatorial District, Sunday Karimi, following a petition against him by the suspended senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Akpoti-Uduaghan had asked the police to investigate Karimi over his claims that the National Assembly had been infiltrated by Russia’s KGB,  the former Soviet Union’s secret service.

In her petition, dated March 5, 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan, asked the police to investigate claim by Karimi that KGB had infiltrated the National Assembly, posing a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic process.

In her petition, she alleged that Karimi shared a report, titled, “KGB Agent Group Warns Senate: A Call for Vigilance Amidst Threats to Democracy,” on the official WhatsApp group of the 10th Senate on February 23, 2025.

Akpoti-Uduaghan asked the police not to treat the alarm raised by Karimi with levity.

She declared, “No nation can afford to ignore the presence of such a group within its legislative body.”

Karimi, according to sources, appeared at the Louis Edet House police headquarters in Abuja on Monday to state his own side in deference to police invitation.

Sources at the police headquarters described the session with Karimi as “positive with useful disclosure”, as the lawmaker owned up to his post.

However, while a source at Louis Edet House claimed that Akpoti-Uduaghan had abandoned her petition, she denied the claim when contacted yesterday by THISDAY.

In her reaction, she denied police claims that she had rebuffed invitation to shed light on her petition.

Akpoti-Uduaghan said she had not been invited of recent by the police after Karimi’s summon, adding, “Apart from being invited to adopt my petition, I haven’t been invited.”

INEC Notifies Akpoti-Uduaghan of Recall Process, Acknowledges Petitioners’ Details

INEC said it had written Akpoti-Uduaghan of the petition submitted by her constituents for her recall.

Members of her constituency, Kogi Central Senatorial District, had on Monday stormed the headquarters of INEC in Abuja, where they demanded her recall.

But the electoral body on Tuesday said the petition for the recall of Akpoti-Uduaghan was not in compliance with the legal framework because the representatives of the petitioners did not provide certain details.

INEC said the required details included the petitioners’ contact addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses, through which they could be contacted, as provided in Clause 1(f) of INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines. It said these were to be included in the covering letter of the petition.

However, in a follow-up statement yesterday, the commission confirmed that the required details of the petitioners had now been provided in a letter addressed to Chairman of INEC, dated Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, in a statement, said the same letter had been copied to the presiding officer of the senate and published on the commission’s website.

Olumekun said, “Further to the statement issued yesterday, Tuesday, 25th March 2025, the commission hereby confirms that the contact address of representatives of the petitioners, their telephone numbers and e-mail addresses have now been provided in a letter addressed to the chairman of the commission dated today, Wednesday, 26th March 2025.

“As provided in Clause 2(a) of the commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a letter has been written to notify the senator sought to be recalled about the receipt of the petition and delivered to her official address.

“The same letter has been copied to the presiding officer of the senate and published on the commission’s website.

“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50 per cent) of the registered voters in the constituency.

“This will be done in the coming days. The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the commission.”

The commission reassured Nigerians that the process would be open and transparent.

Kogi Central Constituents Insist on Recall

Thousands of Kogi Central constituents threw their weight behind the ongoing recall process against Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying no amount of falsehood and propaganda would derail the process.

The constituents stated that it had become clear that her being in the senate was an error, and said they were determined to correct the error.

Over 10,000 constituents, from the five local government areas in Kogi Central, under the platform of Kogi Central Grassroots Movement, spoke through a statement on Wednesday, signed by Coordinator, Kogi Central Grassroots Movement, AbdulHameed Jimoh, and Secretary, Mohammed Abdullahi.

They accused supporters of the embattled senator of fabricating videos and deliberately distorting information on the recall, and insisted that she had come to the end of her stay at the senate.

The constituents advised Nigerians to ignore the outbursts of a few people on social media, but visit Kogi Central to see that “the embattled senator is currently a paper-weight politician”.

Group Seeks Akpabio’s Resignation

A group, Action Collective, called for the immediate resignation of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Chairman of Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen, to allow for an impartial investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Akpabio. 

National Coordinator of Action Collective, Dr. Onimisi Ibrahim, in a statement, said the continued stay of Akpabio and Imasuen in office could compromise the integrity of any probe.

The group said the committee, which should play a crucial role in investigating the allegations, could not be trusted under the leadership of Imasuen, given his political ties with Akpabio. 

It expressed concern over the handling of the sexual harassment case filed against Akpabio by Akpoti-Uduaghan, following the recent withdrawal of Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The group warned that the credibility of the National Assembly was at stake, emphasising that Nigerians are watching closely.

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