Who is Natasha Akpoti, the PDP Kogi Senator Declared Winner by the Presidential Election Tribunal 

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been declared the winner of the Kogi Central senatorial district election conducted on the 25th of February 2023.

An election petition tribunal sitting in Lokoja stated that Sen. Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area. 

The tribunal also revealed that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA.

The court declared Natasha as the election winner with 54,074 votes, surpassing Ohere, who garnered 51,291 votes, following the necessary corrections.

What You Need to Know

INEC earlier declared Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Kogi central senatorial election.

Rotimi Ajayi, INEC returning officer for the district, had announced that Sadiku-Ohere garnered 52,132 votes to beat Natasha who had 51,763 votes. The margin of victory was 369 votes.

Natasha who was dissatisfied with the outcome of the election approached the tribunal with a petition seeking to nullify the victory of Sadiku-Ohere.

Who is Natasha Akpoti?

Natasha Akpoti, is a Nigerian barrister, social entrepreneur, and politician from Okehi in Kogi State. 

She gained national prominence after submitting an investigative report on the Ajaokuta steel mill to the National Assembly on the 1st of March 2018. 

Her report exposed the repetitive waste of government funds and embezzlement that had plagued the steel mill since its inception. 

Despite facing opposition and accusations of misinformation from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, her efforts spotlighted a critical issue affecting Nigeria’s industrialisation.

Akpoti political history

Akpoti contested in the 2019 Kogi State Gubernatorial Election which was held on 16th of  November 2019.

She also ran for the Kogi Central Senatorial District seat under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2019. She later switched to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and contested the 2023 Kogi Centre Senatorial Elections.