Recall: Dino Melaye thanks constituents 

Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West in the Senate has commended his constituents for resisting what he called undemocratic recall instigated by few people.

The embattled senator reaction was contained in a statement released by his Media Aide, Gideaon Ayodele on Sunday.

Senator Melaye who is now bed-ridden and still in intensive care at National Hospital Abuja described the recall as a battle that had been won.

The statement reads in part:

“Needless to say that all allegations against him by the Police are politically-motivated and the timing of his maltreatment and harassment was carefully planned to prevent him from mobilising support against the purported recall of his representation of Kogi West from the Senate, GOD manifested Himself by using the good people of Kogi West senatorial zone to stem the tide against him by making the cup to pass over the Senator even in his absence.

“Despite his current travails, his inability to mobilise his constituents and also deploy agents to monitor the signature verification exercise, countless number of supporters volunteered to do it without minding the associated risks posed by the Kogi State Government. It is therefore important for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to act truly independent by announcing a result that truly reflects the wishes of the majority electorate of Kogi West as demonstrated today.

“No doubt, to recall a representative is guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as the right of the electorate, what the good people of Kogi West and other lovers of democracy outside the state, who are praying for Senator Dino Melaye, have done is to stop an instigated and purported recall against him because it is undemocratic, self serving and beneficial to only a few.”

He appealed to all Nigerians to pray for the safety and immediate freedom of Senator Dino Melaye so that he can return to his family and duty post, noting that failure of the recall will certainly spite his traducers and might devise new ways of rubbishing him again.

“It is pertinent to say here, that though the battle for the recall has been won and lost, the safety of Senator Dino Melaye in the hospital as heavily guarded by the Police since Tuesday is a cause for concern even as we decry the arrest, continued detention and trial of his brothers, aides, friends and lawyers on trumped-up charges by the police.”