INEC must postpone Nov 30 Kogi West rerun poll —Dino Melaye – TheNigerialawyer

The Peoples Democratic Party candidate for Kogi West senatorial
election, Dino Melaye, has called for the postponement of the
supplementary election scheduled for November 30.

Melaye made the call while addressing newsmen at the
headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in
Abuja on Wednesday, where he had gone to submit another petition on
the election.

He called on INEC to postpone the election until it is able to
address what he described as “noticeable infractions” in the
November 16 election and concerns over areas where the
supplementary election would be held.

Melaye had, on November 20, submitted a petition, calling for
total cancellation of the election, attaching 21 video CDs and
other “documentary evidence” to prove that there was no election in
the senatorial district.

He said he was at INEC office because he had yet to get a reply
to his earlier petition, adding that there was also no public
announcement that a panel had been set up to investigate the issues
raised in the petition.

Melaye said he was also there to submit additional facts to
those in his earlier petition, which, according to him, were
unknown to the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

“What is new in what we have submitted today is that we have
attached a copy of Form EC8B of Ward A in Lokoja Local Government
Area, where INEC, during collation, had cancelled results of nine
out of 23 polling units in the LGA.”

He added that results were cancelled in other polling units
during collation, including Abugi, Ole and other places, but these
were not captured among the areas where INEC said that
supplementary poll would take place on November 30.

“What we are saying is: how can INEC cancel these polling units
during collation process and they will not be captured in places
where rerun will take place?

“We believe this is an aberration, and the INEC chairman cannot
know about it and allow it to stay.”

Melaye said there were also lots of places where elections were
supposed to have been cancelled by INEC, but which were not.

These, he said, included Lokogoma and Adanko in Lokoja, where,
he said, three people were killed during the November 16
election.

“Unfortunately, results were returned in those places. We are
saying that INEC must be neutral and cancel elections in areas
where there was violence.”

Another infraction cited by Melaye was that in Koko Quarters,
Aiyetoro-Gbede, Ward 1 in Ijumu LGA, the election was peaceful,
result collated, declared and won by the PDP, but was now part of
the areas where the supplementary poll would take place on
Saturday.

Another error, Melaye said, was that the unit was listed under
Egbeda-Ega ward, adding that he could not understand why this was
so.

“I want to say that with all these infractions put together,
INEC must, as a matter of transparency and national interest,
postpone the Saturday supplementary election.”

Melaye said he was not calling for any support or cooperation,
but he just wanted INEC to do the needful by cancelling elections
in areas where there were cases of violence and ballot box
snatching and conduct fresh elections where results were
cancelled.

The former senator was accompanied by PDP leaders in Kogi West,
including Mr. Olushola Akanmode, Deputy Chief of Staff to a former
President and one-time governorship aspirant in the state (NAN)