Connect with us

Politics

Low turn-out trails verification of signatures for recall of Melaye

Published

on

Low turn-out trails verification of signatures for recall of Melaye

There was low turn-out of registered voters who turned out for the verification process for recall of Senator Dino Melaye.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed Saturday for the exercise to recall the senator representing Kogi West.

Melaye is presently under arrest at the National Hospital, Abuja after he sustained injuries when he jumped out of a police vehicle conveying him to Lokoja, the Kogi State Capital.

Reports indicate that among other areas, only 18 out of 440 petitioners I. Ukwo polling unit in Koton Karfe came for the verification, while at Oworo polling unit in Felele area of Lokoja, none of the 815 petitioners showed up.

Also at polling unit 004 of Ward 3 in Lokoja, 32 out of the 1,251 petitioners showed up.

During the exercise, there was no case of malfunctioning of card reader machines while security personnel adequately manned the polling centres.

Read also: PDP laughs at Buhari’s calculations for 2019

Melaye had approached the courts to stop the verification exercise, which he accused the state’s Governor Yahaya Bello of plotting. But the Appeal court had given INEC the go-ahead to carry out the verification of the signatures.

Speaking on the exercise, INEC Federal Commissioner in-charge of Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa states, Alhaji Mohammed Haruna, it’s main concern was to ensure transparency in the process, insisting that the organisation was neutral in the bid to recall Melaye from the Senate.

“Turnout is not our problem; turnout is the problem of parties concerned, ours is to ensure transparency,” Haruna said.

According to him, the agency had no interest in who won or lost in the matter.

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now