Why I refused to collect the petition for my recall from INEC - Dino Melaye
- Senator Dino Melaye has stated that he refused to accept the petition for his recall from INEC, due to the fact that the time allotted for it to be served had elapsed
- Melaye stressed that he would not, under any circumstances, be seen to be aiding and abetting illegality, by receiving the petition
- He faulted the trial judge for elongating the time frame for the petition to be served, despite the fact that the process was initially suspended as a result of a suit which he had filed, before it was allowed to continue
Senator Dino Melaye (APC-Kogi West) has stated his reason for refusing to accept the petition for his recall from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Premium Times reports.
The embattled lawmaker gave his reason in a chat with journalists on Monday, September 25, in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
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Legit.ng gathered that the senator stated that accepting the petition would amount to aiding and abetting illegality, as he claimed that the time allowed for such had passed.
He stated: “It is clear that by the provisions of Section 69(b) of the 1999 Constitution, INEC must act on the petition purportedly presented to it on June 23, 2017 by conducting a referendum within 90 days of receipt of the petition.
“The 90 days period as provided for in the Constitution for conducting the referendum after our verification, elapsed on Sept. 23, 2017.
“The time having elapsed, I cannot under the circumstance, aid and abet INEC to further infringe on the provisions of the Constitution, which I have sworn to defend.”
Melaye faulted the decision of the trial judge to elongate the allotted time frame; despite the fact that the recall process was initially suspended as a result of a suit which he (Melaye) had filed.
It was only afterwards that the process was allowed to continue; on the order of the Federal High Court.
He stated: “The trial judge failed to respect that provision of the Constitution when he elongated 90 days provided for, saying the process was paused when the interim order for maintenance of status quo was granted.
“I am not evading the service of any purported petition on me by INEC.
“As a matter of fact, my lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, served INEC a notice to produce the said petition in the course of hearing of this matter but INEC failed to produce the petition in court.
“I have also instructed my lawyer to challenge the jurisdiction of the trial court to entertain an ex parte application for the service on me.
“In view of the lapse of time, I shall no longer be in a haste to take any further step in this matter so as not to aid any party, especially INEC in breaching the Constitution.’’
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Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that the suit opened by Senator Dino Melaye challenging his recall process, was dismissed by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
In a judgment rendered on Monday, September 11, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to “proceed with the recall process”.
Watch this Legit.ng TV video about Dino Melaye's recall process:
Source: Legit.ng
