The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has advocated a special court to try cases of kidnapping that has been on the rise in recent time.
The IGP said that the call for special court for kidnappers is necessary as members the public feel that kidnappers are not being prosecuted enough.
The IGP, in an interactive session with a group of civil society organisations under the auspices of “The Situation Room’’ in Abuja said the special court should be an urgent measure to punish the kidnappers.
The IGP said that with the creation of special task force squadron on terrorism, a lot of kidnappers have been arrested and that the force had 2, 000 suspected kidnappers across the country.
He reiterated the force’s commitment to apprehending the notorious and wanted kidnapper from Benue commonly called “Ghana,” adding that his days were numbered.
The police boss thanked Nigerians for their support and called for more collaboration to curb crime.
The convener of the Situation Room, Nwankwo, called for the prosecution of kidnappers to serve as deterrent to others.
He said that ‘kidnapping is a serious national issue that needs to be tackled urgently. [myad]
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has made it clear that the great challenge and the wonderful opportunity for this generation of the Nigerian elite is to build a new Nigeria out of the rubble of cynicism, division and suspicions.
He said that it is possible for the elite to build a new nation based on trust, consensus, love for one another and love for the country.
Speaking today, Friday, at the graduation of Senior Course 39 of the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji in Kaduna state, the acting President insisted that the new generation of elite must resolve to build a nation where the rulers do not steal the commonwealth, “where every Nigerian is safe to live and work, where the State takes responsibility for the security of each and every Nigerian, where the state knows every Nigerian by name and can find and locate each one of us, a Nigeria where the Ibo or Ijaw man can live peacefully in Sokoto, and the Fulani man can live peacefully in the Niger Delta.”
Professor Osinbajo admitted that building is an act of the human will as well as a practical, routine, sometimes dirty, sometimes frustrating enterprise.
“This is why no great nation was ever built overnight or without the sacrifice of group compromise, the pain of not getting all you want, the feeling that your ethnic or religious persuasion could be treated better, that is the sacrifice of nation- building, give and take; a little here, a little there. No one group can have it all.
“Our leadership must be courageous. Courage means willingness to be abused and insulted by our own people. The humiliation of being heckled for making concessions is the price of the privilege of leadership. “The greatest leaders are those prepared to take unpopular decisions or make compromises unpopular with their constituencies but crucial for long term goals.
“Yes, they may be unpopular in the short run but their greatness eternally is guaranteed. Nelson Mandela after years in prison and decades of the inhumanity and oppression of apartheid, to the shock and amazement of his black constituency preached reconciliation. An unpopular move in the short term but no contemporary political figure is as revered as he is even in death.
“The opportunity to go down in history as builders of the new Nigeria, now beckons. I trust that you will heed its call.”
Four Arab states that imposed a boycott on Qatar have issued an ultimatum to Doha to close Al Jazeera television, cut ties with Iran, shut a Turkish base and pay reparations.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have sent a 13-point list of demands apparently aimed at dismantling their tiny but wealthy neighbor’s two decade-old interventionist foreign policy which has incensed them.
Qatar did not immediately comment, but Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani had said on Monday Qatar would not negotiate with the four states until economic, diplomatic and travel ties cut this month were restored.
The countries that imposed the sanctions accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional unrest and drawing too close to their enemy Iran. Qatar rejects those accusations and says it is being punished for straying from its neighbors’ backing for authoritarian hereditary and military rulers.
The uncomprimising demands leave little prospect for a quick end to the biggest diplomatic crisis for years between Sunni Arab Gulf states, regional analysts said.
“The demands are so aggressive that it makes it close to impossible to currently see a resolution of that conflict,” Olivier Jakob, a strategist at Switzerland-based oil consultancy Petromatrix, said.
Ibrahim Fraihat, Conflict Resolution Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, forecast a prolonged stand-off.
Qatar would reject the demands as a “non-starter”, he said, and its neighbors had already escalated as far as they were likely to go. “Military action remains unlikely at the moment so the outcome after the deadline would be a political stalemate …”
Washington, which is a close military ally of countries on both sides of the dispute, had called for a resolution: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Qatar’s neighbors should make their demands “reasonable and actionable”.
TEN DAYS TO COMPLY
An official from one of the four nations, who gave details of the demands on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the offer would be “void” unless Qatar complied within 10 days.
The UAE has said sanctions could last for years. Qatar, the world’s richest country per capita, says the sanctions amount to a “blockade”, but it has ample reserves to weather the storm.
The dispute is a big test for the United States, which houses the headquarters of its Middle East air power and 11,000 troops at a large base in Qatar.
President Donald Trump has backed the sanctions, even as his Defense and State Departments have tried to remain neutral, resulting in mixed signals. Trump called Qatar a “funder of terrorism at a very high level”, only for his Pentagon to approve selling it $12 billion of warplanes five days later.
The most powerful country in the region to back the Qatari side in the dispute has been Turkey, whose President Tayyip Erdogan has his roots in an Islamist political party similar to movements that Qatar has backed in the region. Days after the sanctions were imposed, Turkey rushed through legislation to send more troops to its base in Qatar as a sign of support.
Defense Minister Fikri Isik rejected the demand to close the base, saying it would represent interference in Ankara’s relations with Doha. Turkey might bolster its presence instead.
“Strengthening the Turkish base would be a positive step in terms of the Gulf’s security,” he said. “Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on our agenda.”
Qatar has used its vast wealth over the past decade to exert influence abroad, backing factions in civil wars and revolts across the Middle East. It infuriated Egypt’s present rulers and Saudi Arabia by backing a Muslim Brotherhood government in Cairo that ruled for a year until it was deposed by the army in 2013.
Qatar’s state-funded satellite broadcaster Al Jazeera became hugely popular across the Middle East, but has long infuriated Arab governments used to exercising firm control over the media in their countries. Jazeera hit back at the closure order, calling it “nothing but an attempt to silence the freedom of expression in the region”.
STOP INTERFERING
The demands, handed to Qatar by mediator Kuwait, tell Qatar to stop interfering in the four nations’ domestic and foreign affairs and refrain from giving Qatari nationality to their citizens, the official from one of the sanctioning states said.
They also include severing ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Jabhat Fateh al Sham, formerly al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and the surrender of all designated terrorists on Qatari territory. Qatar denies it has relationships with terrorist groups or shelters terrorists.
It was ordered to scale down diplomatic relations with Iran, limit its commercial ties and expel members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Qatar denies they are there.
The sanctioning countries demanded Qatar pay them reparations for any damage or costs incurred due to Qatari policies. Compliance with the demands would be monitored, with monthly reports in the first year, then every three months the next year, then annually for 10 years, the official said.
Although Reuters was told about the contents of the ultimatum by an official from one of the sanctioning countries, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash accused Qatar of leaking the demands.
“There is a price for the years of plotting and there is a price to return to the neighborhood,” Gargash said on Twitter. “The leak (of demands) seeks to derail mediation.”
Qataris who spoke to Reuters described the demands as unreasonable, particularly the closure of Jazeera, which millions of Arabs see as an important outlet for voices willing to challenge the region’s authoritarian rulers, but which neighboring governments call a conduit for Islamist propaganda.
“Imagine another country demanding that CNN be closed,” 40-year-old Haseeb Mansour, who works for telecom operator Ooredoo, said.
“A LOT ON THE LIST”
Abdullah al-Muhanadi, a retired public sector worker shopping for groceries in Doha on Friday morning, said the boycott must be lifted before negotiations to resolve the dispute could start.
“There’s a lot on the list that is simply not true or unreasonable, so how can we comply?” he said. “There are no IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) elements in Qatar and the agreement with Turkey is a long-standing diplomatic agreement so we cannot ask them to leave.”
Qatar has only 300,000 citizens enjoying the riches produced by the world’s largest exports of liquefied natural gas. The rest of its 2.7 million people are foreign migrant workers, mostly manual laborers employed on vast construction projects that have crowned the tiny desert peninsula with skyscrapers as well as stadiums for the 2022 soccer world cup.
The sanctions have disrupted its main routes to import goods by land from Saudi Arabia and by sea from big container ships docked in the United Arab Emirates. But it so far has avoided economic collapse by quickly finding alternative routes, and it says its huge financial reserves will meet any challenges.
Qatar says the sanctions have also brought personal hardship for its citizens who live in neighboring countries or have relatives there. The countries that imposed the sanctions gave Qataris two weeks to leave, which expired on Monday.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the stability in the forex market and is hopeful that the move to ensure exchange rate convergence will soon yield dividend.
The Acting Director of the Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, who confirmed the development on behalf of the apex bank today Friday, is optimistic that the CBN’s goal of exchange rate convergence is fast becoming a reality.
He added that the CBN is committed to ensuring liquidity in the forex market.
He said that the apex bank had, today, allocated sum of $240 million to the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) for spot and forward deals.
He also confirmed the sale of forex to dealers in the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the market to meet the needs of low-end forex users, adding that
the $240 million released to the Retail SMIS included deals initiated in the course of the out-going week.
It will be recalled that the CBN, in its interventions last week, injected about $831.5 million in the inter-bank Forex market and released figures indicating that the Bank had boosted transactions at the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) segment of the market to the tune of $2.2bn.
Meanwhile, the naira continued to maintain its stability in the FOREX market, closing at an average of N365/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Friday. [myad]
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]
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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.