The
Independent National Electoral Commission says it has formally notified Senator
Dino Melaye of the demand by the people of his constituency to recall him from
the
Senate.
It said that
the decision to inform Melaye was taken at its meeting held in Abuja on
Thursday, where the petition submitted by voters in the Kogi-West senatorial
district was considered.
The
commission also said that it would issue a notice to the petitioners and Melaye
on July 3, on when it would begin the verification of the signatures of those
who signed the notice.
A National
Commissioner of INEC, Madam Mohammed Haruna, disclosed the commission’s
decision in a statement issued in Abuja.
Aggrieved
voters from Melaye’s constituency were at the commission’s headquarters in
Abuja on Wednesday where they presented their petition on their demand for the
recall of the senator.
Haruna said,
“INEC has held its regular weekly meeting today and considered the petition
submitted by registered voters from the Kogi-West senatorial district to
kick-start the process of recalling Senator Dino Melaye.
“In
accordance with INEC’s guidelines for the recall of members of the National
Assembly, the commission has finally acknowledged the receipt of the petition
to the petitioners’ representatives and has conveyed a letter notifying Senator
Dino Melaye of our receipt of the petition.
“The next
step is to verify that the petitioners are registered voters in the Kogi-West
senatorial district.
“INEC will
on July 3, 2017 issue a public notice stating dates, time, location and other
details for the verification of the exercise.”
Kogi-West,
which Melaye represents in the Senate, has seven local government areas.
Signatures
and petitions from each of the local government area were packaged in seven
bags, which were tagged according to the names of the local governments, and
submitted to the commission.
The local
government areas and the percentage of the voters who signed the recall
petition showed that Yagba-West had the highest number of voters asking Melaye
to return home from the Senate.
The
breakdown, as shown in the petition is: Yagba-West, 55.7 per cent; Lokoja, 54.8
per cent; Kogi, 52.77 per cent; Yagba-East, 52 per cent; Ijumu (Melaye’s local
government), 51.8 per cent; Mopa/Moro, 50.4 per cent and Kabba/Bunu, 46.7 per
cent.
A prominent
member of the All Progressives Congress in Ijumu, Mr Cornelius Olowo, who led the delegation, had
insisted that the constituents were not satisfied with the quality of Melaye’s
representation.
He had said,
“We want Senator Melaye back because of poor representation, he is also not
accessible to us, he is unreachable and has no constituency projects.
“Apart from
the fact that he has never called any town hall meeting, there has been a major
gap between the senator and the people he claims to represent.”
0 Comments