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Tag: Melaye

  • Dino Melaye’s recall process starts July 10 – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has released the time table for the verification of signatures of constituents in the Kogi West Senatorial District who had indicated their interest to recall their senator, Dino Melaye.

    In the time-table issued by the commission’s secretary, Augusta Ogakwu, the ‘Notice of Verification’ would be issued on July 10 and pasted at the INEC local government office in Lokoja, the state capital.

    Interested observers have July 31 as the last day for the submission of their applications to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, while the last day for the submission of names of verification agents for both Melaye and his accusers is August 10.

    INEC would on August 15 have a stakeholders’ meeting while the actual verification would be conducted on August 19 in all Polling Units in the constituency.

    On the same day at the INEC LGA office in Lokoja, the commission shall declare the outcome of the verification.

    “The Commission shall issue the time-table and schedule of activities for the conduct of referendum subject to the outcome of the verification exercise”, the statement added.

  • Constituents drags INEC, Kogi Gov, others to court, seeks stoppage of Melaye’s recall

    The Concerned Kogi Registered Voters (CKRV), have filed a suit at a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from commencing verification of signatures collected in order to recall Senator Dino Melaye who is representing Kogi West Senatorial District.

    Addressing newsmen on yesterday in Abuja, ‎the convener and secretary of the group, Olowosayo Gabriel Sunday and Amupitan Babayomi Segun claimed that names of dead persons and people who do not reside in the district appeared on the recall register submitted to INEC.

    The applicants, who faulted 188,000 signatures which were submitted to INEC, noted that while 111,534 voted in the general election in Kogi West, the total number of registered voters in Kogi West is 360,098.

    According to a copy of the motion which was made available to newsmen, INEC which is the first respondent was sued alongside eight other respondents, comprising some aides of the state governor, Yahaya Bello and state lawmakers from the senator’s district.

    In their application, the plaintiffs said, “that 2nd to 9th respondents fraudulently opened a recall register and signed signatures for registered voters in Kogi West Senatorial District.

    “That some of the names of the registered voters that appeared in re said recall register were dead voters and some voters who were not even residing at Kogi State and they were at different parts of the country when the purported signatures were fraudulently collated by the 2nd and 9th respondents.”

    However, the convener of the indigenes, Olowosayo Gabriel Sunday, who is also the first applicant in the suit, said, “That as at the last announcement, INEC itself agreed and announced a figure of PVC collection in Kogi West that is far less than the alleged 188,000.

    “That we are aware that there is possible connivance between the people on the recall agenda and INEC because we have evidence of photograph of PVCs in thousands gathered together for the recall, an act contrary to the electoral act.”

    He added that the move was a desperate attempt to recall Melaye.

     

     

  • Start packing your loads, no going back on recall process, group tells Melaye

    A group, Aggrieved Constituent Voters in Kogi West senatorial district, says there is no going back on the recall of Sen. Dino Melaye who represents the constituency in the Senate.

    The leader of the group, Mr Olowo Cornelius, made the statement while addressing a news conference on Wednesday in Lokoja.

    He said that the recall bid was premised on the lack of performance and total disconnect between the senator and his constituents.

    “The recall of Sen. Dino Melaye was entirely initiated and is being pursued by constituents of Kogi West Senatorial District.

    “This is after having had enough of Dino’s unbearable utterances, conduct and misbehaviour both in and out of the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly coupled with his total disconnect from the people he claims to represent.

    Cornelius said the group was poised to make history in the country as the first constituency to recall a lawmaker for performing below expectation.

    He accused Melaye of abandoning his constitutional duties for trivialities and described the senator as “a huge embarrassment’’ to the people of the western flank of the state.

    He also accused Melaye of embarking on “fruitless attempt’’ to discredit his recall by claiming that some personalities in the area like the late Prince Rotimi Obadofin was included in the signatories of the recall register.

    He described the claim as not only “demonic, but grievous wickedness to the resting soul of the deceased politician.’’

    Cornelius urged Melaye to be patient and wait for verification to ascertain the signatures.

    He expressed delight that the action to recall Melaye was yielding positive results as the emattled lawmaker was now on his toes attending to the needs of the people of his constituency.

    According to him, nine constituency projects awarded by the senator but abandoned in the area are now ”seriously” receiving attention as he had mobilised contractors to site.

    He said that four constituents had benefitted from car donation from the senator, adding that the recall bid had forced Melaye to do what he ordinarily would not have done.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that INEC had in a statement last week said it had formally informed Melaye of petitions filed by its constituents to recall him and fixed July 3 to begin the recall process.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the embattled senator had sued INEC to halt the recall process while also alleging that the names and signatures presented to INEC were those of the dead.

  • Signatures collected to influence my recall forged – Melaye

    Sen. Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West Senatorial district in the National Assembly says the signatures allegedly collected to influence his recall and forwarded to INEC were forged.

    Addressing newsmen on Sunday in Lokoja, Melaye who said investigations had revealed that even the dead signed the recall across the seven area councils of the senatorial district, described the process as fraudulent.

    Speaking through one of his legislative aides, Malam Abubakar Sadiq, the embattled senator said names and signatures of dead constituents were on the list.

    According to him, the name of a former governorship aspirant of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, late Chief Rotimi Obadofin precisely from Iya-Gbede axis was on the list.

    “Let me also sound authoritatively that here in Lokoja Local Government Council, several others whose names and signatures appeared on the list of the signatories to this failed exercise were identified and known to us as being dead long before now.

    “Such people like late Abdullahi Abubakar, his immediate younger sister late Halima Lawal Abubakar and Ibrahim Adama of Unit Code 021, Adankolo Ring Road in Ward ‘A’, Lokoja Local Government Council.

    Also one late Salihu Black of Gegu-Beki town, Kogi Local Government Council who until his death was a biology teacher in Government Secondary School, Koton-Karfe, also appended his signature on the recall list.

    “This recall exercise was hatched in Kogi Government House due to the manner in which Senator Dino Melaye consistently challenges and engages the government over non-payment of workers’ salaries and pensioners for over 15 months; and also the constant closure of tertiary institutions ,” he stated.

    Senator Melaye also alleged that they claimed to have gotten over 188,000 signatories of electorates in Kogi West when the total vote cast, both valid and rejected, in the last senatorial election of 2015, was merely 111, 000 for all the candidates that participated.

    In a swift reaction, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi said Senator Dino Melaye should stop worrying about INEC.

    Bello, who spoke through his chief Press Secretary, Mrs Petra Onyegbule, said facts about the constituents were with INEC which had the responsibility of verifying the signatures.

    “There is nothing for the distinguished senator to be worried about. INEC has set July 3, for the public verification of signatures and the date is around the corner; there is no point burning their energies all over the place”, Onyegbule said

    On the alleged collation signatures in Government House, the spokes person said it was absolutely false as no single signature was collated in Government House.

  • Recall Saga: Senator Dino Melaye turns ‘Terminator’

    Like a movie series, the long duel between Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello [GYB] and the Senator representing Kogi West in the upper legislative chamber, Dino Melaye, takes newer dramatic turns at every time one feels it has neared an end.

    In one of his recent posts on his official Twitter account, Sen. Melaye, who one would have thought would be sober over his looming recall by his constituents [A project alleged by the senator to be sponsored by his political foe, Gov. Bello] announced himself as the ‘Terminator Senator’.

    In the viral ‘Terminator Senator’ tweet, Melaye who likened himself to a world-famous actor, Arnold Schwarzenneger in the film “TOTAL RECALL” said his antagonists, GYB is cruising for a bruising.

    Recall that TheNewsGuru had earlier reported that Melaye filed a lawsuit at the Federal high Court in Abuja seeking a court injunction to halt his recall from the Senate.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), confirmed the receipt of a petition against Melaye from his constituents and promised to embark on the process of verifying over 188,000 signatures submitted to the commission.

    In as much as it is difficult for one to state the root cause of the brawl between Melaye and Gov Bello, the strain in their relationship has been on for and months, with both of them freely exchanging invectives.

    The governor has called the Senator a “child” who “lacks proper parental care and upbringing…a social menace in the society.”

    Melaye has referred to Bello as a man who is “afraid of anyone with a rising profile, a characteristic of one suffering superiority complex and intellectual stagnancy.”

    Melaye says civil servants haven’t been paid their salaries in Kogi for like forever.

    The Governor disagrees.

    “Sincerely speaking, Kogi State is living in peace. Projects are ongoing. We are all happy over there. Salaries are being paid as and when due and we are making serious progress,” the Governor demurred.

    Melaye alleges that the Governor has attempted to have him assassinated twice.

    According to the lawmaker, Bello wants him dead only because he’s been railing against the poor performance of the Governor since he was inaugurated.

    Melaye has called for a state of emergency to be declared in his home state.

    “I will seek the leave of this senate to bring a proper motion to ask for the declaration of a State of emergency in Kogi state. As I speak to you, Kogi state is no longer passable since Yahaya Bello became the Governor. Kidnap is going on, on daily basis. Insecurity on the rise than ever. There have been four jail breaks in Kotorn Karfe prison”, says Melaye during a recent plenary session.

     

     

  • Recall saga: Melaye sues INEC, asks court to halt process

    Sequel to the official notification on the commencement of his recall from the Senate, Senator Dino Melaye on Friday sued the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and prayed the courts to stop the recall process.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that INEC had in a statement on Thursday said it had formally informed Melaye of petitions filed by its constituents to recall him and fixed July 3 to begin the recall process.

    But, Melaye in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/587/2017 filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja described the recall petitions as fictitious.

    Through his lead counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who filed the suit, Melaye urged the court to declare the petitions submitted to the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, as “illegal, unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, invalid, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.”

    He also wants the court to void the recall process on the grounds that it was commenced in breach of his fundamental right to fair hearing.

    The suit was filed along with an affidavit of urgency, urging the court to assign the case to a judge and be granted an accelerated hearing.

    The affidavit of urgency deposed to by a litigation secretary in the law firm of Ozekhome, Mr. Usman Salihu, states, “That he has also asked for injunctive relieves restraining the defendant from acting on the said petition.

    “That except this matter is assigned and granted accelerated hearing, the res in issue in this matter might be destroyed.

    “That this court is urged most humbly to assign this suit as a matter of grave urgency and grant accelerated hearing therein.”

    In the affidavit filed in support of the originating summons, Salihu, who deposed to the affidavit, raised doubt about the entire recall process, describing it as sponsored.

    The affidavit stated in part, “That in the last National Assembly election conducted in March 2015, the total number of votes cast in both valid and invalid votes was about 115,000 out of the total registered voters.

    “That the numbers of signatories on the petition purportedly submitted to INEC far exceed the total number of both valid and invalid votes cast at the last general election.

    “That he knows as a matter of fact that this raises serious doubt as to the authenticity of the entire process and the alleged petition itself.

    “That except by physical verification of all the signatures, the defendant cannot determine the authenticity of the alleged signatures in the purported petition. “That he knows as a matter of fact that the purported petition asking for his recall was politically sponsored and without any basis whatsoever.

    “That he was reliably informed by one T. Ayeni, that the recall form with a copy of INEC Register was given to him to transfer some of the names in the INEC register to the recall sheet and forge the signatures therein.

    “That they also gave him some money, and that the form and money were given to him by the ward Chairman, Ayiyetoro Gbede Ward in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.”

    His prayers read, “A declaration that the petition presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission for the recall of the plaintiff, is illegal, unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, invalid, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.

    “A declaration that the recall process purportedly initiated against the plaintiff by his constituents under Section 69 of the Constitution as altered, is illegal, unlawful, wrongful unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect whatsoever same having been commenced and conducted in utter disregard to the hallowed principles of natural justice and in volcanic violation of the plaintiff’s right to fair hearing, as provided for in section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as altered.

    “An order of injunction restraining the defendant whether by itself, staff, employees, agents, servants and or privies howsoever called, from commencing or further continuing with the process of acting on the purported petition presented to it by the constituents against the plaintiff.

    “An order of injunction restraining the defendant from conducting any referendum predicated on the fictitious petition allegedly submitted to it by the purported constituents of the plaintiff, on the basis of the fundamentally and legally-flawed petition.”

  • BREAKING: INEC writes Melaye, begins recall process July 3

    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 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.

    INEC’s National Commissioner and member Information and Voter Education Committee, Madam Mohammed Haruna, disclosed the commission’s decision in a statement 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 whole registered voters from Kogi West senatorial district to kickstart the process of recalling Senator Dino Melaye.

    “In accordance with the INEC 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 Kogi West senatorial district.

    “INEC will on July 3, 2017, issue 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 governments areas.

    Signatures and petitions from each of the local government areas were packaged in seven bags, which were tagged according to the names of the local governments, and submitted to the commission.

    The local governments and the percentage of 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 percent; 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 unreadable 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.”

  • Recall from Senate: List contains names, signatures of dead people – Melaye

    Recall from Senate: List contains names, signatures of dead people – Melaye

    The lawmaker representing Kogi west senatorial district, Senator Dino Melaye has said moves by his constituents to recall him from the senate will fail as the names and signatures on the list presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC were either of dead people or forged.

    The embattled senator also warned that those behind the fake names and signatures for his (Melaye’s) recall will be prosecuted and jailed according to the law.

    Melaye stated this while answering questions on a monitored programme on Channels Television on Wednesday evening.

    When he was asked about the reports that files of signatures of voters in his district had been submitted to INEC, Melaye said: “I continue to laugh at their efforts which I know is in futility. The whole exercise is a comedy of errors.

    “Nobody should take it seriously; the whole thing is shrouded in money politics and cannot stand.

    “We have discovered names of dead people on the list and a handwriting with similar signatures for several people on petition, the discrepancies are too much and it’s a total fraud.

    “And I promise that many people will go to jail for forgery.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that INEC on Wednesday received signatures from the electorates in Kogi West Senatorial District demanding the recall of Melaye from the Senate.

    The electorates submitted their signatures at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja in six bags.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that an insider in the Kogi State Government on Tuesday confided in newsmen that the compiled signatures will formally arrive at INEC headquarters on Wednesday (today).

    The source explained that all that needs to be done has been completed and “it is left to INEC to take the next course of action.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that a total of 188,580 electorates from Kogi West Senatorial District already signed the recall register form of the senator.

     

  • BREAKING: INEC formally receives ‘six bags of signatures’ requesting Melaye’s recall from Senate

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Wednesday received signatures from the electorates in Kogi West Senatorial District demanding the recall of lawmaker representing the zone, Dino Melaye from the Senate.

    The electorates submitted their signatures at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja in six bags.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that an insider in the Kogi State Government on Tuesday confided in newsmen that the compiled signatures will formally arrive at INEC headquarters on Wednesday (today).

    The source explained that all that needs to be done has been completed and “it is left to INEC to take the next course of action.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that a total of 188,580 electorates from Kogi West Senatorial District already signed the recall register form of the senator.

    Announcing the figure at the All Progressives Congress (APC) State Secretariat in Lokoja, the returning officer for the recall of the serving senator, Adamu Yusuf, explained that out of 360,098 of the total registered voters of the seven western senatorial districts comprising Yagba, Mopa Muro, Kabba Bunu, Yagba East, Koton Karfe, Lokoja and Ijumu, 188, 588, signed the recall register constituting 52.3% of the voters in senatorial district.

    “Going by the above figures, it is important to let Nigerians know that we have met the Constitutional requirements of 51.1%. Dino has failed to represent Kogi West so we are calling him back home,” Yusuf added.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that INEC had last week denied knowledge of the recall process of Senator Melaye.

    Details later…

  • 188, 588 voters in Kogi West endorse Melaye’s recall

    188, 588 voters, representing 52.3 per cent of the total number of registered voters in Kogi West senatorial district have approved the recall of Sen. Dino Melaye from the senate.

    The Special Adviser to the state governor on political affairs, Mr Pius Kolawole announced this on Monday in Lokoja while addressing party members from the district.

    He said that the collation of signatures of voters to that effect was carried out successfully on June 17.

    Kolawole commended voters in the district for turning out en masse for the exercise, saying that Section 69 of the 1999 constitution backed their action.

    “In 2015, we voted for Dino Melaye and now we are using the same method to return him home,” he said.

    Announcing the result of the collation, the Returning Officer, Mr Adamu Yusuf said that 188, 588 out of the 360,098 in the senatorial district endowed Melaye’s recall.

    While giving the breakdown of the result per the seven local governments in the district, Yusuf said that 18, 374 of the total number of 35,331 registered voters in Yagba East approved the recall.

    Others are 9, 186, out of 18,356 voters in Mopa-Muro local government, 24, 703 out of 46, 810 voters in Yagba West, 63,736 out of 116,296 in Lokoja Local Government and 24,283 out of 46,819 in Ijumu Local Government.

    In Kabba/Bunu Local Government, 28,277 out of 60, 520 voters endorsed the recall, while 24,703 out of 46,810 voters in Kogi Local Government voted for move to recall Melaye.

    According to Yusuf, with this, the next move is to submit the document to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the next action.