‘Forces of evil will never triumph’ — Melaye reacts to failed recall

Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west, has thanked his people from standing by him in the bid to recall him from the national assembly.

The lawmaker is currently at the National Hospital, Abuja, after sustaining injuries when he jumped out of a moving police vehicle conveying him to a court in Lokoja, Kogi state, for a gun running case.

The senator’s constituents were said to have submitted a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last year, seeking his recall from the upper legislative chamber.

The lawmaker had challenged the move to oust him in court but two months ago, an appellate court sitting in Abuja gave INEC the nod to continue with the process.

Consequently, INEC released a timetable for his recall and the verification of signatures was scheduled for Saturday but the exercise was marred by low turnout.

At the end, INEC announced that out of the 189,870 signatories to the petition, only 18,742 were verified. The verified signatories represent 5.34 percent of the 351,146 registered voters in Kogi west, thereby not meeting the required criteria.

For the verification exercise to succeed, 50 percent plus one of the signatories to the petition had to be verified.

Reacting on Sunday, Melaye promised his supporters that he would not let them down.

“Thank you my people. God bless you all. Thank you for the confidence reposed on me. I will not let you down. I will always stand by the truth and the people at all times. God bless Kogi West,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Every lie has an expiry date. Forces of evil will never triumph over forces of light. God is with us.”