Five critical dates that will determine Dino Melaye’s fate as Senator

Judoski 

Dino Melaye

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Monday released the much-anticipated timetable for the recall exercise of Dino Melaye, a senator from Kogi State.

The electoral umpire published the schedule despite acknowledging receipt of court process which Mr. Melaye’s lawyers filed to halt the recall.

Mr. Melaye filed the 34-page court papers at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court last week, urging the court to order INEC not to proceed because the recall signatures submitted to INEC were fraudulent.

Mr. Melaye’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, filed the originating summons a day after INEC wrote the senator about an ongoing process by his constituents to recall him.

The electoral body also told Mr. Melaye that it will publish the modalities for the recall on July 3 – today.

Recall campaigners say they submitted 188, 588 signatures, representing more than 54 percent of voters in the district, to INEC for verification.

See the five critical dates as published by Secretary to INEC, Augusta Ogakwu, below:

S/No.	ACTIVITY	DATE	REMARK
1	Notice of Verification	10 th     July 2017	To be  posted at the constituency (INEC LGA Office Lokoja)
2	Last day for submission of application by interested observers	31 st  July 2017	INEC Headquarters
3	Last day for submission of names of verification agents  for the member sought to be recalled and the petitioners	10 th  August 2017	By a letter addressed and submitted to the REC indicating the Polling Unit verification agents arranged by LGAs as well as collation agents and where they will serve
4	Stakeholders meeting	15 th  August 2017	INEC State office
5	Conduct of Verification	19 th  August 2017	To be held in all Polling Units in the constituency
6	Declaration of the outcome of verification	19 th  August 2017	At the Constituency (INEC LGA Office Lokoja)