The Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF), a group that rose out of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has condemned what it called, the resurgence of desperate youth groups promoting ethno-regional identities and extremist positions from the different geo-political zones across the nation.
In a statement by the Director General, Salihu Mohammed Lukman, the group stressed the need to quickly put an end to the threat to the national unity as being promoted by such youth groups across the country.
PGF, which described itself as promoting an all-inclusive government, for the development of policies and programs that improve the life of every Nigerian citizen, regardless of ethnicity and religious orientation, said it is not comfortable with the present secessionist and separatist agitations promoting ethno-regional identity in the country.
It said that the sundry factional groups, claiming to represent different ethnic nationalities, are now sowing the seeds of disunity and promoting secessionist agenda in the nation.
“We decry and reject their activities in all intents and purposes. Acknowledging the rich diverse heritage of Nigeria as a country, the PGF particularly notes that the resurgence of desperate youth groups promoting ethno-regional identities and extremist positions from the different geo-political zones across the nation as currently experienced is a reflection of prevalent weak governance, economy and law enforcement system in Nigeria.”
The Forum stressed that the challenge before Nigerians today is to commit themselves to the unity of the country.
“We must create by all means necessary, a country that we can collectively call our home, irrespective of tongues and localities. This is a vision the APC as a party is committed to lead and for which the PGF is unapologetically and intrinsically loyal.These threats to national unity must cease totally and put away into history.
“While acknowledging that as a nation, we do have challenges, PGF believe that the resolution of those challenges rest with the development of our democracy and with it, the ascendency of structured processes of national consultations, negotiations and invariably agreements.
“Some of the challenges are highlighted in the accompanied PGF Position – There has to be a Nation First. As Governors elected under APC, we will work with our party leaders, the Federal Government and all Nigerians who are committed to democratic development all parts of the country to ensure unencumbered protection of lives of all citizens in every part of the territorial boundary of our nation.
“PGF therefore call for the rise of all Decent Voices across this country to speak up against the upsurge of some desperate irredentist movements across all ethnic groups and support the emergence of a stronger and virile unified Nigeria for us all.”
The Forum insisted that, regardless of the diverse identities of Nigeria, and under whatever differences, Nigeria would have to thrive, adding: “there has to be a nation first.” [myad]
The conflicted relationship between the governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, and the senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, which fed on local political grievances, has snowballed into much wider intriguing webs of mischief that have received the imprimatur of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Governor Bello, from his latest move, has shown how committed he is to the battle to take out the senator, especially politically. It would appear that the governor has settled for the political option and, as a first step, the recall instrument, following the submission of a signed petition by some voters in Kogi West seeking, at the prompting of the powers-that-be in the state, the recall of their legislator.
I can safely predict that if the recall process fails, the governor’s next move will be to stop Melaye’s 2019 re-election bid at the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primaries. Then, no matter Melaye’s political savvy, it will take a force majeure for him to win the primaries, which will be conducted under the governor’s superintendence. But, I sincerely, perceive that the governor may not be interested in taking prisoner in this bid to recall Melaye.
Therefore, Melaye has two major local battles to contend with between now and 2019. He will be able to fight the second battle if he is able to win the first one: the recall battle. But, he is not shy of taking up challenges. I cannot also rule out the possibility of his getting sucked in some more battles in the national political arena. It is common knowledge that he is already committed to the battle to defend Senator Bukola Saraki’s senate presidency even at great costs to his person and political career.
Consequently, having recently survived the alleged certificate scandal involving his alma mater, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the recall process is Melaye’s present concern even though he has dismissed it as a futile effort. I cannot vouch for Melaye’s confidence in fighting the battle to recall him. One thing I can assure him is that if he treats the action of the state governor and his foot soldiers lightly, he will be committing political hara-kiri.
The INEC had already, in a statement by its National Commissioner and member, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, acknowledged receipt of the signed petition by some voters in Kogi West and sent a letter to Melaye notifying him of its receipt of the petition. The next step, as constitutionally prescribed, is for the Commission to verify the petitioners are registered voters in the senatorial district.
The Commission said that a public notice stating the day(s), time, location and other details for the verification exercise would be issued on July 3, 2017. The INEC response is consistent with the provisions of section 69(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) 2011, which states inter alia: (69) “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives may be recalled as such a member if (a) there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition in that behalf signed by more than half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member; and which signatures are duly verified by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
This is the first hurdle which the INEC must satisfactorily scale. And this is where the issue lies. How does the Commission satisfactorily verify the signatures? How does the Commission ensure regularity of signatures? Does it have the machinery to make certain that the integrity of that process is not compromised such that either party will not unduly benefit from the compromised process?
If any of the parties is not satisfied with the verification as supervised by the INEC, can the party seek judicial review of the Commission’s administrative action? If yes, I foresee a possible resort to the court to deal with the dialectics of the political mischief that has crept into political interactions in Kogi state.
And, in case the verification of signatures is not encumbered, the Constitution in subsection (b) of section 69 provides: “the petition is, thereafter, in a referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, within ninety days of the date of the receipt of the petition, approved by a simple majority of the persons registered to vote in that constituency.”
This is an election that provides an opportunity for Melaye’s constituents to either pass a vote of confidence or a no-confidence vote in him. One thing he may have going for him is the fact that his fate will be decided by his people in his senatorial district and not the governor and his people. If he has done well in the last two years that he has been in the senate, his people will say so.
Nevertheless, since this is a “yes” or “no” response to Melaye’s continued stay in the National Assembly as their senator, I expect that Melaye will heavily mobilise his people to turn out en-masse to support him. He will need to deploy plenty funds to do that. The governor will do the needful to oil all necessary machinery to ensure that Melaye is rejected. But how far can Melaye go against the state government machinery, especially if it is acting in concert with the Federal Government-controlled INEC to deal with an errant senator whose cup of iniquity, in their estimation, is full and running over?
The question supra is the real McCoy. Both parties are locked in a grudge fight. It is an ego war, which will make or mar political reputation, especially that of the governor if he is unable to use the executive powers at his disposal to deal with a senator that represents only a third of the state.
Bello has crossed the Rubicon in the enterprise to end Melaye’s “nuisance” in the politics of Kogi. The INEC has activated its machinery while Melaye himself cannot but throw his hat in the ring in self-defence. He can no longer wish away the recall process. Recall, in this instant case, has gone beyond mere instrument of threat as happened recently to his colleagues: Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South) and Senator Ali Wakili (Bauchi South).
In both cases, the aggrieved members of their respective senatorial districts did not get to the point of mobilising signed petitions to the INEC chairman as constitutionally provided, thus taking the wind of the sails of their threatened recall. Melaye’s case represents the first time in the annals of Nigerian politics when constituents would successfully, so it seems until verification of signatures proves otherwise, submit a signed petition for recall of their representative in the National Assembly.
The days ahead for Bello, Melaye and INEC are going to be testy and interesting; especially with the involvement of a rambunctious and troublesome activist-Melaye-whose political destiny is under a real threat of decimation. However, time will tell how the battle is fought, won and lost.
Members of the Kano State House of Assembly have accused the Speaker, Kabiru Rurum, of pocketing the sum of N100million allegedly given to them by billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, to shelve the probe of Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.
The law makers followed the accusation by obtaining signatures from 32 out of 40 members of the House, to impeach the Speaker.
The Speaker has however since denied the allegation and threatened to sue the newspaper that published the story.
The Chief Whip of the House, Labaran Madari, was said to have stood his ground, insisting that the Speaker must go to salvage the image of the House. Members spearheading the impeachment said that the signatures rose from 17 in the last two weeks to 32 on Monday.
“We have gathered enough signatures to perfect our move. The Speaker’s offences are too numerous. It is not the Dangote issue alone. We are just fed up with his numerous offences,” said a member who preferred not to be named.
The House is expected to reconvene on July 7. [myad]
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu has said that the struggle for the actualization of the Republic of Biafra has just begun.
Kanu who spoke at his father’s compound, Eze I.O Kanu in Isiama Afara Ukwu, Umuahia, Abia State, declared categorically that there will be no more election in the South-East region.
Citing Anambra State as a starting point, he said elections will not hold until referendum is approved by the Nigerian government.
Kanu asked the people who turned up to hear him speak: “are we ready for freedom?”
The Independent National Electoral Commission has began the process of recall of Senator Dino Melya by writing a notification letter to him about the demand by the people of his Kogi West Senatorial Zone.
INEC’s National Commissioner and member Information and Voter Education Committee, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, who made this known in a statement in Abuja, said that the decision to inform Melaye was taken at the Commission’s meeting held in Abuja today, Thursday, where the petition submitted by voters in Kogi West Senatorial District was considered.
He said that the commission 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.
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.
Mohammed 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.” [myad]
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari respects the right of every Nigerian to freely express himself under the democratic government being practiced, but that freedom of expression has its own limitation.
Professor Osinbajo, who was apparently responding to the argument by Nnamdi Kanu’s Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that the fight for Biafran Republic was part of the freedom of expression, said that hate speech can never be allowed to thrive in the guise of freedom of expression.
The acting President, who was addressing governors from 36 states at one of the consultative meetings with stakeholders on the threat to national unity, insisted that federal government would not allow anybody to hide under the canopy of freedom of expression to divide this country.
He fingered politicians in the agitation for the division of Nigeria, even as he appealed that against politicizing anything that has to do with security.
Full text of the Acting President’s remarks is reproduced here:
We must not allow the careless use of words, careless expressions that may degenerate into crisis
We are a people that like to talk and we express ourselves loudly but it is expected for us to recognize that it is those same words that can cause conflagration, that can unfortunately lead to calamity. We must be careful of how we express ourselves.
What we have seen in recent times is that some of the languages used have tended to degenerate badly and I think that we must begin to speak up against some these things and ensure that we protect our democracy and our nation from the hands of rhetorics that may just divide us
From all of the consultations, we have had all agreed on certain issues
We agreed that Nigeria’s unity should not be taken for granted, no one wants to see us go done the path of bloodshed or war.
We also agreed on the permanency of the Nigerian constitution, that 1999 constitution is the basis for our unity. It is the basis for the legal contract that exists between all of us.
Our meetings were frank and open as I hope this will be, we were able to agree on most of the critical issues that were discussed and in most cases changed perceptions that may have been long embedded in their minds. We also agreed that under no circumstances should we condone hateful speeches and that government should take all steps necessary to bring to book all those who preach violence, in particular the kind of expressions of dissent that can cause violence. We also agreed that we need to do more to engage our youth productively, create some jobs, multiply the economic opportunities available.
More importantly we agreed on the need for leaders to speak out forcefully to counter divisive speech or any kind of woe mongering, we agreed that leaders at all levels speak out forcefully against any kind of divisiveness or divisive speech. And we expect that our political leaders will do so without waiting to be prompted. All of those who spoke to felt that sometimes when leaders do not speak up promptly it always results in degeneration no matter what the problem may be.
This applied to both the statement made by the young people in the South East as well as the youth in the Northern states. We discovered there was a need for much greater resonance in the way that these things are done and for the leaders to speak up more forcefully. We believe that if the leaders do not speak up forcefully enough if for any reason matters are allowed to degenerate, not only does leadership loose their legitimacy, they run the risk of things going completely out control.
He commended the leaders from the North and South for their openness at the consultations stating “that they were extremely responsible even in their criticisms of what they felt were issues that should have been better handled. I think that their criticisms were fair and balanced. I must commend them for their sense of responsibility and their leadership.
Going back to some of what was said, some of the issues that came up and I hope that we will discuss in greater details are the issues around the herdsmen and farmers crisis, especially the way that some of these have resulted in flashpoint across the country. We started
those discussions during the consultations we had and I believe that we will be able to deepen those discussions in our meeting and possibly hold a more expanded meeting where we will be to take a closer look at it. It is absolutely important that we are able to make lasting and satisfactory solutions to these problems.
Ofcourse the problems are multidimensional but the states have a very important role to play especially because they are in control of land in their territories.
I must say that I trust that all must all of us appreciate the need to show greater unity of purpose and the determination to work together to resolve various challenges that arise on a constant basis for the benefit of all Nigerians regardless of party affiliations.
We must resist the temptation to play politics especially with matters of security, but to reach for simplistic narratives that might be originally expedient and satisfying but false, deceiving and sometimes unhealthy to proper understanding of the issues. Sometimes intensions are perceived on the account of the fact that they have wrong perception about a particular thing. I think it is in our place to ensure that we dig down the fact and ensure that people are given the fact and ensure that we don’t colour them with politics. [myad]
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has askedd the Muslims in the country to look for the new Moon of Shawwal on Saturday, June 24 to terminate this year’s Ramadan Fasting and observance of Eid-El-Fitri on Sunday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Sultan made the call in a statement signed by the Chairman, Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, Sultanate Council, Sokoto, Prof. Sambo Wali on Thursday.
“This is to inform the Muslim Ummah that Saturday, June 24, which is equivalent to 29th day of Ramadan,1438 AH, shall be the day to look for the new Moon of Shawwal, 1438 AH.
“Muslims are therefore requested to start looking for the new moon of Shawwal, 1438 AH, Saturday.
”They should report its sighting to the nearest District of Village Head, for onward communication to the Sultan.”
The sultan advised the Muslims to report the sighting of the new moon to the sultanate council on the following numbers: 0803-715-7100, 0706-741-6900, 0806-630-3077, 0806-548-0405, 0803-595-7392, 0803-596-5322 and 0803-614-9767. [myad]
The Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi has said that any Nigerian who is thinking of Nigeria breaking up is wasting his time.
The governor, who spoke to news men shortly after a consultative meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, said: “it has been unanimously that the unity of this country is sacrosanct, is non-negotiable and we have all agreed to work together to educate people.
“Any time you have agitation, usually there will be poverty, there will be unemployment, there will be hardship, so we should address fundamentally these areas of poverty, unemployment and hardship.
“Nigerians are by nature a united people, nobody cares whether you are from the north, south or the east.
“There unity must be there and we cannot play with the unity of this country. The consensus has been that there must be unity.
“The message is for Nigerians to work more together and collaborate. We have more to gain when we are united. We cannot afford to break, and anybody is thinking of that he is wasting his time and we will not allow it, not in this country. All of us are unanimous about that.
“To you, the media, look for what unites us and not sensations news. If we fight everybody will lose, have you ever seen a country that fought civil war and remain the same? we don’t want to be another Rwanda and Somalia and all these places. The government is doing its best.” [myad]
All the ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have expressed discomfort with the falling standard of education and resolved to embark on a retreat to find proper solution.
Rising from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Wednesday, presided over by acting President Yemi Osinbajo, the ministers fixed early July for the retreat but the venue is yet to be disclosed.
Briefing news men shortly after the weekly meeting, the education minister, Malam Adamu Adamu said that FEC discussed single very important issue on the road map of education sector and developments.
“Today, at council we discussed many issues but the most important was education. “Members agree that the fallen standard in education is so serious that we will need a ministerial retreat to look at all the issues. There are a lot of issues in solution and all of them are crying for attention. So there will be a ministerial retreat in the next two weeks to look at the issues and from there we will take off in what we are doing.
“Initially we had prepared s blueprint but FEC felt the issues is beyond that because there are crisis in all the areas of education, in out of school children, in technical education and training, in ICT, in all the areas you can think of.
“So ministers are going to start talking to themselves and come out with solutions.”
Adamu Adamu also used the opportunity to deny the media reports that Christian Religious Knowledge has been removed from the school curriculum across the country.
“You journalists especially those of you on social media are not helping this nation by banding things that are absolutely false.
“The issue of Christain religious knowledge that all the national media, social media took up with up and deceived even the leadership of the Christian association of Nigeria because they believed it. I read in the papers that they asked the acting president to confirm, there is no truth in it at all.
“It was just somebody’s imagination probably somebody who wishes to raise tension in the country after the Biafra issue and then the quit order given to some young people in the north so the person just followed suit trying to stoic the embers of religion. There is no truth whatsoever I repeat.
“Certainly there was a policy in 2012 which was given effect in 2014 that is even before this government came in. One of the things I did as minister was to speak to the national council on education to disarticulate history from the social studies curricula be caused we believe we want our young people to know our history. You cannot know who you are without knowing who your ancestors were in the past.
“And the national council of education did accept and agree that the teaching and learning of CRK has been made compulsory for all christians students and teaching and learning of Islamic studies is compulsory for all Muslim students.
“So you are actually accusing the ministry of the opposite of what it has done. I think I just need to tell you even if you are not the ones in the social media, they must be your compatriots, please tell them to be more responsible in handling the issues especially at this time in history.” [myad]
A man in Lagos is said to have sent his new wife packing from his house after accusing her of enjoying sex with armed robbers who gang raped her. The man (name withheld) was said to have complained that instead of the wife to shout for help, she was making some funny noise while the action was going on. Sources said that the incident happened in the couple’s residence on Bello Street in the Iyana-Ejigbo area of Lagos State, where armed robbers visited them in the death of night few months after they came back from their village where they had conducted their traditional marriage. It was learned that after the heavily armed gunmen invaded Baba Eneh’s house around 3 am and demanded money, the native of Owukpa, Ogadigbo Local Government Area of Benue allegedly told the gunmen that he had only N3, 500 at home. The man, a commercial bus driver, reportedly begged the robbers that he did not have much money at home since he had expended all his savings on marrying his new wife and they were just trying to settle down. But the robbers who were angry that the man did not have much money at home, decided to gang-rape his wife at gunpoint and descended on her. However, when the robbers left after raping the woman, the commercial driver was said to have raised hell, accusing his wife of enjoying the rape by moaning in excitement and twisting her waist as the robbers sexually assaulted her, instead of screaming for help. He was quoted as telling his neighbours: “Imagine my wife, instead of her to cry for help, she was busy making some funny sounds, an indication that she was enjoying the sex, even in my presence.” He was said to have ordered the woman out of his house on the ground that she disgraced him as it is against the customs of his community for a married woman to have sex with another man. The man is said to be afraid of what the gods of his land will do to him and has asked the wife to return to her village for the cleansing rites and sacrifices to be made. Source: NAN [myad]
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INEC, Melaye And Sceptre Of Recall In Yahaya Bello’s Hands, By Sufuyan Ojeifo
The conflicted relationship between the governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, and the senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, which fed on local political grievances, has snowballed into much wider intriguing webs of mischief that have received the imprimatur of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Governor Bello, from his latest move, has shown how committed he is to the battle to take out the senator, especially politically. It would appear that the governor has settled for the political option and, as a first step, the recall instrument, following the submission of a signed petition by some voters in Kogi West seeking, at the prompting of the powers-that-be in the state, the recall of their legislator.
I can safely predict that if the recall process fails, the governor’s next move will be to stop Melaye’s 2019 re-election bid at the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primaries. Then, no matter Melaye’s political savvy, it will take a force majeure for him to win the primaries, which will be conducted under the governor’s superintendence. But, I sincerely, perceive that the governor may not be interested in taking prisoner in this bid to recall Melaye.
Therefore, Melaye has two major local battles to contend with between now and 2019. He will be able to fight the second battle if he is able to win the first one: the recall battle. But, he is not shy of taking up challenges. I cannot also rule out the possibility of his getting sucked in some more battles in the national political arena. It is common knowledge that he is already committed to the battle to defend Senator Bukola Saraki’s senate presidency even at great costs to his person and political career.
Consequently, having recently survived the alleged certificate scandal involving his alma mater, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the recall process is Melaye’s present concern even though he has dismissed it as a futile effort. I cannot vouch for Melaye’s confidence in fighting the battle to recall him. One thing I can assure him is that if he treats the action of the state governor and his foot soldiers lightly, he will be committing political hara-kiri.
The INEC had already, in a statement by its National Commissioner and member, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mallam Mohammed Haruna, acknowledged receipt of the signed petition by some voters in Kogi West and sent a letter to Melaye notifying him of its receipt of the petition. The next step, as constitutionally prescribed, is for the Commission to verify the petitioners are registered voters in the senatorial district.
The Commission said that a public notice stating the day(s), time, location and other details for the verification exercise would be issued on July 3, 2017. The INEC response is consistent with the provisions of section 69(a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) 2011, which states inter alia: (69) “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives may be recalled as such a member if (a) there is presented to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission a petition in that behalf signed by more than half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member; and which signatures are duly verified by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”
This is the first hurdle which the INEC must satisfactorily scale. And this is where the issue lies. How does the Commission satisfactorily verify the signatures? How does the Commission ensure regularity of signatures? Does it have the machinery to make certain that the integrity of that process is not compromised such that either party will not unduly benefit from the compromised process?
If any of the parties is not satisfied with the verification as supervised by the INEC, can the party seek judicial review of the Commission’s administrative action? If yes, I foresee a possible resort to the court to deal with the dialectics of the political mischief that has crept into political interactions in Kogi state.
And, in case the verification of signatures is not encumbered, the Constitution in subsection (b) of section 69 provides: “the petition is, thereafter, in a referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, within ninety days of the date of the receipt of the petition, approved by a simple majority of the persons registered to vote in that constituency.”
This is an election that provides an opportunity for Melaye’s constituents to either pass a vote of confidence or a no-confidence vote in him. One thing he may have going for him is the fact that his fate will be decided by his people in his senatorial district and not the governor and his people. If he has done well in the last two years that he has been in the senate, his people will say so.
Nevertheless, since this is a “yes” or “no” response to Melaye’s continued stay in the National Assembly as their senator, I expect that Melaye will heavily mobilise his people to turn out en-masse to support him. He will need to deploy plenty funds to do that. The governor will do the needful to oil all necessary machinery to ensure that Melaye is rejected. But how far can Melaye go against the state government machinery, especially if it is acting in concert with the Federal Government-controlled INEC to deal with an errant senator whose cup of iniquity, in their estimation, is full and running over?
The question supra is the real McCoy. Both parties are locked in a grudge fight. It is an ego war, which will make or mar political reputation, especially that of the governor if he is unable to use the executive powers at his disposal to deal with a senator that represents only a third of the state.
Bello has crossed the Rubicon in the enterprise to end Melaye’s “nuisance” in the politics of Kogi. The INEC has activated its machinery while Melaye himself cannot but throw his hat in the ring in self-defence. He can no longer wish away the recall process. Recall, in this instant case, has gone beyond mere instrument of threat as happened recently to his colleagues: Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South) and Senator Ali Wakili (Bauchi South).
In both cases, the aggrieved members of their respective senatorial districts did not get to the point of mobilising signed petitions to the INEC chairman as constitutionally provided, thus taking the wind of the sails of their threatened recall. Melaye’s case represents the first time in the annals of Nigerian politics when constituents would successfully, so it seems until verification of signatures proves otherwise, submit a signed petition for recall of their representative in the National Assembly.
The days ahead for Bello, Melaye and INEC are going to be testy and interesting; especially with the involvement of a rambunctious and troublesome activist-Melaye-whose political destiny is under a real threat of decimation. However, time will tell how the battle is fought, won and lost.