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.