By Emeka Nze
Abuja
The electorate from Kogi West Senatorial District, yesterday made good the recall bid of their Senator, Dino Melaye, as they stormed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abuja, to submit bags of signatures collected from the constituents.
According to the constituents, the six bags represented each of the local government areas in the senatorial district.
The local governments are Ijumu; Kabba/Bunu; Lokoja; Yagba West; Yagba East; and Mopa/Muro.
The members, led by Hon Olowo Cornelius, were, however, ushered in to see the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
The press was not allowed into the meeting.
Addressing newsmen after their meeting with INEC chairman, Cornelius stated that what was required for a recall was 50.1 per cent, but they were able to gather 52.3 per cent.
He noted that polling centres were set up where electorate came with voter cards to cast their ballot, adding that it took one week for them to collate the results from the polls.
While denying they were being sponsored by Governor Yahaya Bello, Cornelius said they decided to recall their senator because he had become inaccessible and unreachable, and was not representing them responsibly.
He further claimed that the senator had neither held a town hall meeting in the constituency since elected , nor attracted any constituency project for them.
He said: “We are not satisfied with his representation in the Senate. The people know who is representing them well. The Senate is a place for responsible people not for rancour and tyranny. People of Kogi west had had to bear with him for two years. Two years are enough to assess a senator. We are at a stage of a journey of no return.”
Exonerating the governor from the recall process, Cornelius declared, “the governor is not from Kogi West; he has no role in the matter. He is from another constituency and he has his own senator. I know people say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but in this case what we are seeing is the determination of the people.”
