Senate mocks INEC’s exercise to recall Melaye

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by Editor

Written by Editor

The Senate, on Tuesday, faulted the ongoing recall activities lined up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), against Senator Dino Melaye, alluding that the commission was acting under instructions to recall him.

The upper chamber also dismissed the activities as an exercise in futility given the stringent provisions of the constitution and law of the land regarding the recall of a lawmaker.

‎It accused the state government of impunity, noting that the state is pulling the strings behind Melaye’s recall bid. The Senate took the position at yesterday’s plenary when Melaye raised a point of order and claimed that his attempted recall was necessitated by his call to the state government that arrears of salaries owed the Kogi workers be paid.

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, in his contribution, said INEC appears to be teleguided and under instructions to recall the embattled Melaye. He asked that the INEC officer in-charge of operations should be called to order to stop spending wastefully, the money owned by Nigerians to achieve a selfish aim.

“It seems INEC is being teleguided, today they will announce timetable, tomorrow, they will do this. They are doing this day as if INEC has been under instructed to go and make sure that senator Dino Melaye is recalled.

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“INEC people are being paid by the Nigerian people. It is the money of Nigerians that they are spending in that INEC. Whoever that is in-charge of operations in that INEC, must be called to order by Nigerians because what they are doing today can happen to anybody. It means that once you quarrel with a governor, he will sit down in his office, he will compile signatures and he will say that this person should be recalled,” he said.

Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, said the recall exercise will not see the light of the day “because the constitution provided very strict procedures through which a lawmaker can be recalled to avoid any abuses and the constituents of the affected lawmaker and INEC must have to come back to the Senate after exhausting the laid down procedures to convince the Senate of its satisfactory compliance with the constitution”

Kogi APC sues INEC over moves to recall Dino Melaye

By Bridget Chiedu Onochie and George Opara (Abuja)   |   05 July 2017   |   3:09 am

Dino Melaye. PHOTO: Youtube

• Senate flays process, accuses INEC of bias
The Kogi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and 12 others have asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from commencing the recall process of Senator Dino Melaye.

The suit followed INEC’s announcement that it would begin the process on July 10, after receiving collated signatures from his constituency.In the originating summons, the APC listed other applicants to include, ‎Haddy Ametuo, Shaibu Osune, S.T Adejo, Yahaya Ade Ismail, Gbenga Ashagun, Ahovi S. Ibrahim, Ghali ND Usman, Isa Abubakar, I. Molemodile, Abubakr M. Adamu and Daniel Sekpe.

The counsel to the plaintiffs, Solomon T. Ologunorisa wants the court to declare that the petition presented to the INEC chairman for the recall was illegal, unlawful, wrongful and of no effect whatsoever.They also stated that the process, which was initiated through a purported petition against Melaye by some of his constituents, pursuant to Section 69 of 1999 Constitution was illegal, unlawful and of no effect whatsoever.Ologunorisa said it was a contravention to the rules of natural justice and constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing under section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.The applicants are further praying for an order, stopping INEC from conducting any referendum, based on the purported petition allegedly presented and signed by “dead, fictitious and purported constituents of our sponsored senator for an incompetent and fundamentally defective petition.”

Earlier, the plaintiffs had asked the court to determine whether upon a proper interpretation of the provisions of Section 65(2) (b), 68(1) (g) and 69 of the 1999 Constitution, Melaye, was not entitled to a fair hearing before the process of his recall, as contemplated by the provisions of the aforesaid section 69 of 1999 Constitution.

No date has been fixed for hearing. Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday faulted the speed of recall activities by the INEC, saying it showed that it was acting under instruction.
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, in his contribution said INEC appeared to be teleguided to recall the embattled Melaye

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu said the plan would fail, given the stringent provisions of the constitution and the law of the land regarding the recall of a lawmaker.The Senate accused the Kogi State government of pulling the strings behind the recall bid.