By Our Correspondent Th e decision to temporarily put on hold the process of recalling Senator Dino Melaye is based on the court order, asking the Independent National Electoral Commission to do so, Blueprint has gathered. Th e revelation is coming against the backdrop of insinuation in some quarters, especially some media platforms, that the commission stopped the process following the planned investigation of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), where the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, once held sway. Debunking the insinuation, some top INEC sources insisted there was no such nexus between whatever action the lawmakers intend for TETFund and the Commission’s decision to that
eff ect. “All INEC did was to obey the court order restraining the commission from going further with the process. But you must note that we have gone to Court to appeal the order; to get it vacated ahead the September 29 date fi xed by the High Court for the motion on notice. “Also, INEC has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria on the High Court order on a strictly constitutional matter which if not addressed, could set a dangerous precedent that could derail the country’s democracy beginning with the general elections already scheduled,” one of the sources said. “By Section 69 of the Constitution, INEC has a 90-day limit from the date of recall petition presentation, June 21, 2017, in this case, to complete the exercise.”
Also speaking, another Commission source said: “Th e Chief Justice needs to address the matter promptly. If not, somebody or people could come up one day to ask a Court to put aside the 2019 General and Presidential Elections Time Table already announced by INEC. When that happens, you can imagine the monumental distortion it will create in the 2019 elections process.” Similarly, the chairman, Abujabased League of Democracy Watchdogs (LDW), Omeresan Olayinka, wondered why people ‘are quick to interpret negativity into every good thing in this country.” “From what I know of this INEC under Prof. Yakubu, it has been very proactive and determined to do its work according to the laws establishing and guiding its mandate,” he said.
