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Dino Melaye’s Recall Attempt By INEC Fails Spectacularly, Only 18,742 Signatories Verified

 

The Oasis Reporters

April 29, 2018

Sen. Dino Melaye (left ) has yet another score to settle with the Kogi State Police Command. Commissioner Ali Janga on the right.

Rather than diminish him, the externally inspired attempt to recall Dino Melaye from the Senate, he has been further strengthened for the determined move has ended with a stupendous negative result as the Electoral Commission chairman made the following announcement :

“I Professor Ukertor Gabriel Moti, affirm that the information on verification of signatures to the petition for the recall of Senator Dino David Melaye of Kogi West Senatorial District has taken place on this day, 28th day of April 2018, and that the verified signatures is 5.34 percent of the total number of registered voters in the constituency and has therefore not satisfied a requirement of the law for a referendum.”

And with that announcement by Professor Ukertor Gabriel Moti, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Declaration Officer for the verification exercise held in the Kogi West senatorial district on Saturday on the petition for Senator Dino Melaye’s recall, failure has greeted the recall attempt.

The verified signatories to the petition for his recall fell short of requirements.

For the verification exercise to succeed, 50 percent plus one of the signatories to the petition had to be verified.

Based on the results announced by Professor Ukertor Gabriel Moti, only 18,742 of the 189,870 of the signatories to the petition for the Senator’s recall were verified by INEC.

The verified signatories represent 5.34 percent of the 351,146 registered voters in the Senatorial district.

Professor Ukertor Gabriel Moti said the results were signed by him and the two agents to the petitioners and the agent of Senator Melaye.

Support came to Senator Melaye from unusual quarters with the opposition party (PDP) he used to lampoon and make mockery of when they were the ruling party threw its weight in support of Melaye by urging it’s members to vote against his recall.

So did Melaye’s traditional ruler who led a protest against the Senator’s recall.
Ojo Adekunle, the traditional ruler who rules the embattled senator’s polling unit in Ayetoro Gbede led some youth to protest against the recall process, saying they were not aware of Mr Melaye’s offence.

“Melaye has done so well and we are happy with him; we have no reason to want to recall him,” he told a NAN correspondent in the area and urged his people not to betray their representative at this trying period.

Victoria Ajewole, APC Woman Leader in Kabba Local Government, expressed surprise at the recall process, and declared that “it won’t work”.
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“Melaye is our son; there is no way anyone can recall him,” she said.
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At the central area of Kabba town, youth were seen chanting songs in praise of Mr Melaye.
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They vowed to resist attempt to disgrace him.

Kogi youth too, opposed Melaye’s recall and some were said to have threatened INEC officials, as many of the Verification centres remained empty throughout the exercise with many residents claiming they never signed for Dino’s recall at anytime, alleging that their signatures were forged on recall registers.

At some areas, youth protested against the move to recall the senator who they described as “an excellent representative” and the best senator Kogi West ever produced.

With this failed attempt, Dino Melaye seems to have reduced significantly, the number of demons confronting him, suspected to be inspired from the state capital, Lokoja where he is said not to see eye to eye with the state governor, Yahaya Bello.

Greg Abolo

Blogger at The Oasis Reporters.

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