The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Melaye’s recall

  • We spent N100m on Melaye’s recall – INEC

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said on Friday the Commission spent only N100million on the failed bid to recall the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye.

    Yakubu said at a press conference in Abuja that the figure was nowhere near the N100billion reported in several quarters.

    He said: “A recall exercise is just like conducting a Senatorial election. The Kogi-West which Melaye represents has 552 polling units and seven local governments.”

     

  • Melaye’s recall fails as INEC releases result

    •Senator, PDP hail constituents •APC chair: ghosts behind attempt

    THE move to recall Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) from the Senate has finally failed as only 5.34 per cent of the total 188,500 signatories to his recall petition were verified in an exercise held on Saturday.

    According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the result of the verification showed that 39,285 of the signatories were verified, out of which only 18,762 signatures were genuine.

    The genuine signatories represent a dismal 5.34 per cent of the total signatories to the petition, which fell short of 51 per cent or 98,364 signatures required for the petition to sail through.

    It was observed that the verification failed largely due to fictitious and forged signatures and names of dead persons affixed to the recall petition by its promoters.

    Some electorate in the Kogi West, on June 24, 2017, submitted a petition to recall Melaye to the headquarters of the INEC in Abuja.

    One Mr. Cornelius Olowo led the petitioners to submit the recall petition which alleged poor representation as one of the reasons for the move to recall Melaye.

    However, the INEC’s presiding officer for the verification exercise, Prof. Okente Morthy of the University of Abuja, said the number of signatures verified fell short of the number required.

    Morthy who spoke yesterday in Lokoja gave the breakdown of the results of the verification exercise which took place in 552 polling units in seven local government areas in Kogi West.

    According to him, in Kogi Local Government with 46,727 registered voters and a total number of 24,459 signatures to the petition, only 2,335 were verified out of 2,566 signatures recorded during verification.

    He added that at Kabba/Bunu Local Government with 59,319 registered voters and 27,910 petitioners , only 2,085 signatures were verified to be genuine out of 2,151 that came out for the exercise.

    Also at Ijumu Local Government, with 46, 810 registered voters and 24, 389 petitioners , 2,664 were verified out of 2, 811, the returning officer announced.

    According to Morthy, others are Yagba East, 35, 329 registered voters, 18, 229 petitioners and 3,506 were verified out of 3, 580 recorded at verification.

    At Mopa-Amuro Local Government with 18, 350 and 9, 173, signatures, 710 were verified out of the 729 recorded

    However, the Returning Officer said there was violence in six polling units at the Mopa town towards the end of the exercise, forcing the INEC to nullify the exercise in the affected wards.

    At Yagba West, which has 35, 506 registered voters and 19, 444 signatories, only 3,729 petitioners were verified out of the 4, 221 that turned up, the returning officer stated.

    In Lokoja Local Government with 109,105 registered voters and 66,266 petitioners, INEC said 3,763 were verified out of the 4, 810 recorded during the botched verification exercise.

    Kogi State Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) Alhaji Haddy Ametuo said “some ghosts” initiated the recall process against Senator Dino Melaye.

    Ametuo, who stated this in a statement issued in Lokoja yesterday on the botched recall process, expressed delight that the efforts had come to a premature end through the collective will of the people of Kogi West Senatorial District.

    “Melaye , the only senator our party has in Kogi State,  won with 94.66 per cent  leaving the remaining 5.34 per cent to the petitioners.

    “The messages are very clear; that Senator Melaye is the most popular senator ever produced by Kogi West,” the statement said.

    Melaye, however, thanked the people of his constituency for “rising to his defence” by shunning the verification exercise.

    The senator, in a statement issued in Lokoja yesterday, also thanked the political leaders, elders and traditional rulers in Kogi West for “rescuing him from his political enemies.”

    He also expressed gratitude to the media, observers, civil society groups, security agents and other stakeholders “for resisting to be used against the wishes of the people of his constituency”.

    The statement was signed by Mr. Gideon Ayodele, Special Assistant on Media to Melaye.

     

    The Kogi State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called for the acceleration of the proposed bill for the establishment of the Election Offences Petition Tribunal.

    The call is coming on the heels of the wide disparity between the purported signatories to the recall petition against Melaye.

    PDP Publicity Secretary in Kogi State Bode Ogunmola,  in a reaction to the development yesterday in Lokoja, called for the arrest and prosecution of the principal actors of the recall petition.

    He warned that the issue must not be glossed over nor swept under the carpet.

    His words: “These jokes have been taken too far… Call in the accountants or auditors; let them determine how much of Kogi resources have been expanded on this so-called recall exercise.

    “Yes, it is an APC and APC thing, but as major stakeholders, we will not stand by and watch while Kogi continue to regress into ignominy.

    “At a time workers’ salaries go unpaid, and suffering mounting across the state, these are the sort of things that the Yahaya Bello administration can boast of contriving.”

     

     

     

     

    Condemning the exercise, a PDP chieftain in Kabba, Chief Ayodele Okono, vowed that no one can recall Melaye, adding that he has more than anyone else, brought development to Kogi West.

     

     

  • Dino Melaye: Low turnout at recall signature verification

    •Says ‘police should respect Dino Melaye’s rights’
    •‘Process is mere APC vs APC agenda’

    Members of the Peoples Democratic Party are not part of the agenda of the recall exercise aimed towards removing Senator Dino Melaye from office, a PDP member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Teejay Yusuf, has said.

    Yusuf, who represents Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency of Kogi State that includes Senator Dino Melaye’s hometown, told reporters in Abuja that the process is a mere APC agenda, adding that it is disturbing that a party that promises progressive change is massively rooted in anti-democratic practices and mere manipulations.

    Speaking on the allegations and counter allegations that ensued between the Nigerian Police Force and Senator Dino Melaye, which led to the hospitalisation of the Kogi-born lawmaker, Hon. Yusuf Tajudeen said the two parties must respect and maintain rule of law.

    “As the representative of Senator Dino Melaye in the Green Chamber, it is expedient that I advise the Nigerian Police Force to ensure that they exhibit the highest degree of fairness, equity, sincerity and justice in addition to respecting the rule of law in this matter.

    “As a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as a Senator, Senator Dino Melaye has fundamental human rights and the police must strive to acknowledge this,” Yusuf said.

    Counseling both the police and the Senator to explore some measure of compromise, he urged the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Kpotum Idris to ensure that his men do not maltreat the Senator.

    While it is a fact that nobody is above the law, the Nigerian Police Force must ensure that it follows due process in carrying out its responsibilities.

    “I specifically appeal to the Inspector General of Police to do everything within the ambit of law and in good conscience to ensure that his officers and men do not do anything illegal or immoral which has the potential to further compound the strained relationship between the National Assembly and Nigerian Police Force,” he added.

  • Melaye’s recall: Result of signature verification expected today

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is expected to announce today the outcome of the verification of signatures for the recall process of embattled Senator Dino Melaye which was conducted yesterday in Kogi West.

    The verification process started with low turnout early yesterday but peaked later in the afternoon.

    At Ukwo-Okoriko Compound in Koton-Karfe, Ward A, unit 003 with 440 petitioners, only 18 had their signatures verified at about 11.00 a.m.

    The electoral officer, Musa Iliasu, said only 18 had been verified but added that it was only INEC that would say which signature was genuine or otherwise.

    At the Ohogabi polling unit near the public tap, 500 petitioners out of the 991 registered voters, only 43 petitioners had their signatures verified by 11:37 a.m.

    Similarly, in Banda, Lokoja Local Government, Oworo Ward 8, Unit 012 with 512 petitioners, out of 1005 registered voters, only 40 were verified at about 12:09 p.m.

    At Oworo Ward 8, unit 004 with over 3,340 registered voters and 815 petitioners, none of the petitioners had shown up for the exercise at the time of filing this report.

    At Lokoja Club polling unit, Ward A, unit 016, with 875 petitioners only two had registered their presence at the unit and both complained that their signatures were forged as they were never part of the petitioners.

    One of the petitioners at Lokoja Club polling unit Ward A, unit 016, Samuel Olukotun, threatened to sue the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for allegedly listing him and his wife as petitioners in the recall bid.

    Doris Ndakwo, a member representing Lokoja II at the State House of Assembly, said the process was new and people did not quite understand.

    She added that some people came out but could not find their names.

    Ndakwo, however, commended the peaceful disposition of the people.

    The exercise took place across the local government areas in the Senatorial District.

    The verification exercise was a follow up to the meeting of stakeholders convened by INEC on Wednesday in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

    Contrary to apprehensions that card readers might malfunction and mar the recall process of verification officers confirmed their effectiveness in the exercise.

    The polling Officer at Ukwo-Okoriko Compound, Ward A, Unit 003, Koton-Karfe, Musa Iliasu and Sen. Dino Melaye verification agent at the unit, Imam Sani said the cards readers did not malfunction throughout the exercise.

    At Banda, Oworo Ward 8, Unit 012, Johnson Salifu also confirmed the functionality of the card reader.

    Patricia Aifakokhan, the NYSC Polling Officer at Lokoja Ward B sharing the views of her contemporaries in other units confirmed that the card readers functioned perfectly.

    Administrator of Kogi LGA, Mohammed Tanko Musa, said he was impressed with the orderly conduct of the exercise, adding that though the township witnessed low turnout, reports from the hinterlands would be different.

    Meanwhile, the senator is currently receiving treatment at the National Hospital in Abuja following injuries probably sustained when he jumped out of a police vehicle to escape arrest.

    Police men remained stationed yesterday at the National Hospital, where Melaye is still receiving treatment.

    He was arrested to face trial in Kogi over allegations made by some hoodlums who alleged that the senator supplied them with weapons.

    A NAN correspondent who visited the National Hospital observed that no fewer than 20 officers and men of Nigerian Police Force were seen in and around the trauma centre where the Senator was receiving the treatment.

    NAN also reports that in spite the ongoing strike embarked on by health workers, some doctors were attending to the injured senator.

    The senator was earlier taken to Zankli Medical Centre in Utako District in Abuja and later moved to the national hospital.

    Reacting, the Spokesperson of the hospital, Dr Adetayo Haastrup told NAN that the senator was in a stable condition in the hospital.

     

     

     

  • PDP urges members to vote against Melaye’s recall

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday directed its members in Kogi State to vote against the recall of Senator Dino Melaye during Saturday’s verification of petitioners’ signatures.

    The PDP said in a statement in Lokoja it was not in support of Melaye’s recall from the beginning.

    The party’s Director of Research and Documentation, Mr. Dickson Achadu, who signed the statement, described the attempt to recall Melaye as a product of internal crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He, therefore, urged his party members to distance themselves from the exercise.

    However, the party said it was in support of the senator’s agitation for good welfare for workers and the downtrodden, adding that the state had been made a laughing stock.

    It urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to guard against being used in the plan to forcefully deny Kogi West quality representation at the Senate.

    The party urged its members to remain peaceful and law-abiding but refrain from submitting to intimidation and inducement by the sponsors of the recall.

    However, the state Police Command has assured the people of Kogi West senatorial district that the exercise would be peaceful and violence-free.

    The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Ali Janga, in a statement, urged them to cooperate with the security agencies to ensure that criminal elements do not hijack the process.

    Janga warned political thugs as well as those who do not have business at the polling units to stay away.

     

  • Melaye’s recall process begins April 28

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the timetable for the recall of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West).

    The Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. James Apam, said following the Appeal Court’s ruling that the recall can start, INEC fixed April 28 for the verification and  May 5 for the referendum.

    Apam, who spoke at a stakeholders’ forum in Lokoja, said the process will begin with an invite to electorate, who signed the recall register, to identify their signatures.

    According to him, if the process is successful, the commission will proceed to the next stage where a referendum of all registered voters will be conducted.

    He continued: “Here, voters will be asked to vote either Yes or No to the question of whether they want Senator Dino Melaye recalled.

    “If the answer is able to meet the constitutional requirements of 51 per cent ‘Yes’, the process moves to the next stage, but if it fails, the process stops.”

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja, last week, ruled against Melaye’s suit challenging the move to recall him.

    “As a law abiding people, INEC will not do anything outside the dictate of the law. That is why we have to wait till after the judgment before going ahead with the process”, Apam added.

    On the continuous voters’ registration, Apam said 210,000 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were ready for collection, and so urged owners to come for them.

     

  • INEC set to take decision on Melaye’s recall

    THE recall process of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) will be part of the decisions to be taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, it was learnt yesterday.

    The commission may likely release a revised recall timetable and schedule of activities in the next few days, following the removal of legal hurdles.

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja  on Friday dismissed the appeal by the senator to halt his recall, thereby removing any encumbrance to the process.

    Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman  Rotimi Oyekanmi, said “As it is now, the Appeal Court has now removed any restriction. That means literally, INEC can continue with that process. The process now will have to start from where it stopped and that is the decision for the commission to make in the coming days.

    “I don’t know how soon the commission will take decision, but I know it is going to be pretty soon. The commission meets every Thursday to take decisions. And of course, once a decision is taking, there will be an official announcement. As it is, the Appeal Court has removed any encumbrances against our moves. That is what the situation is; that we can go ahead with our process.”

  • INEC to proceed with Melaye’s recall as his appeal fails

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by Senator Dino Melaye against a judgment of the Federal High Court, confirming the power of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to commence a recall process without first referring to him.

    In a judgment yesterday, a three-man panel of the Appeal Court held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to have heard Melaye’s suit querying the recall process by INEC.

    Shortly after INEC released its order of procedure for Melaye’s recall process late last year, Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court (FHC) granted an ex-parte order in favour of Melaye stopping INEC from carrying through the process.

    Justice Nnamdi Dimgba (also of the FHC), who eventually determined the fundamental rights suit by Melaye, in which he claimed to have been denied fair hearing, held that INEC could conduct the recall process without hearing from Melaye.

    Justice Dimgba however order INEC to provide Melaye with the petition for his recall written by some electorate in his Kogi West Senatorial Constituency to enable him familiarise himself with issues raised against him in the petition.

    Melaye later appealed the decision and argued, among others, that the 90 days allowed for INEC to conduct the recall process had lapsed.

    Justice T. O. Awotoye, who read the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal, said the FHC ought not to have heard Melaye’s fundamental rights suit in the first place because “there was no cause of action.”

    The Appeal court, while resolving all the issues for determination against Melaye, upheld Justice Dimgba’s finding that Melaye’s suit was “hasty, premature and presumptuous.”

    It said the Federal High Court ought to have struck out Melaye’s suit for not disclosing any cause of action.

    On Melaye’s contention that he was not accorded fair hearing by INEC, the Court of Appeal noted that such position was without basis because INEC is neither a tribunal nor a court of law.

    The Appeal Court said the 90 days required for the recall process has not lapsed in the Melaye case. It said the 90-day period was not static.

    The court said INEC’s powers are statutory having been given by the constitution. It noted that not even the court could take away the powers of INEC to conduct a referendum.

    Justice Awotoye, in the lead judgment, said INEC’s power “is a statutory one given by the constitution and not even the court can take away the powers of INEC to conduct a referendum.

    “Such statutory bodies like the INEC should be allowed to exercise their statutory powers without interference by the court.

    “The appellant cannot claim that his right of fair hearing was infringed upon. His right to fair hearing has not been violated since INEC as a statutory body is not a tribunal neither is it a court of law.

    “The appellant has not disclosed any case of action and the suit ought to have been struck out by the trial court for not disclosing any cause of action.

    “I agree with the decision of the trial court. Ordinary, it ought to have struck out the suit for non- disclosure of cause of action. This is because where there is no cause of action, the court has no jurisdiction to hear the suit.

    “Having resolved all the issues in the appeal against the appellant, I hereby strike out the suit and dismiss the appeal.”

  • Group seeks Melaye’s recall

    Group seeks Melaye’s recall

    Youth groups from across seven local government areas, under the aegis of Progressives Youths of Kogi West, have called for the recall of Senator  Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West in the Senate.

    The groups during a press briefing yesterday in Lokoja, said it was time to replace Senator Dino Melaye. They therefore declared their support for Bisimillahi Tajudeen Ibrahim for the position.

    The spokesperson of the youth groups and Special Adviser on Youths, Lokoja LGA, Bala Abdulkadir, said it was time for the change by the youths of Kogi West.

    The groups declared their support for President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

    “The seat is for Yagba, and it is a clear thing that we need change in Kogi West. We believe in Bisimillahi, because of his achievements, even before coming into politics. He has undertaken laudable projects that have impacted on the people, and that is why we have endorsed him; we believe he will even do more.”

  • Melaye’s recall: INEC to release revised timetable on Monday

    Melaye’s recall: INEC to release revised timetable on Monday

    THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it will on Monday release a revised timetable for the recall of senator representing Kogi West Dino Melaye.

    This followed Monday’s court ruling, which gave the commission the nod to continue with the recall process.

    With the legal hurdle removed, National Commissioner and member, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) Mallam Mohammed Haruna said yesterday in a statement that INEC will release the revised timetable on Monday.

    INEC had commenced the process of Melaye’s recall following a petition by a group from his senatorial zone. But the senator went to court to halt the process.

    The statement reads: “It will be recalled that in obedience to an interlocutory order of the Federal High Court, Abuja given on July 6, 2017 the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stayed all actions relating to the petition to recall Senator Dino Melaye as the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District.

    “Judgment in the suit was delivered yesterday, September 11, 2017. All legal hurdles have now been cleared and the recall process can now proceed as envisaged by the constitution, the Electoral Act and the extant INEC guidelines and regulations.

    “Accordingly, and in compliance with the orders of the court, the commission will release a revised timetable and schedule of activities on Monday September 18, 2017.”