A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi West, Kogi State, to “maintain the status quo” in respect of the recall bid by the constituents of the senator.
Giving the order on Thursday, Justice John Tsoho said that was pending the time the court would hear the motion filed by the senator to seek interlocutory injunction over the recall process.
He fixed the hearing of the motion for September 29, 2017.
If the interpretation of the order by Melaye’s lawyer, Festus Keyamo, is anything to go by, the recall process would have to stop pending the hearing of the case.
Speaking on the order, Keyamo said it meant that INEC could no longer go ahead with the recall process as scheduled.
It would be recalled that followed alleged non-performance of the senator, some members of his constituency had voted for his recall.
The outcome of the voting exercise, being a requirement of a recall process, was submitted to INEC.
Consequently, INEC drew up a time table for the recall process which included the verification of the signature or identities of those who made the recall bid.
But in a swift reaction, Melaye, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/587/2017, protested the recall bid.
He called on the court to dismiss the petition submitted to INEC as unconstitutional.
