Not yet Uhuru....tarry! because six steps have to be fulfilled before Senator Melaye can be recalled and they aren't on number one yet - Enyioma Madubuike

The senator representing Kogi West at the Nigerian senate, is currently battling to save his seat in the green chamber, as “more than half” of the constituent of his senatorial zone have supported a petition for his recall.

However, this is just the first of a series of constitutional steps required to effect the recall.

But first, what exactly is a recall?

A recall is the process through which an elected senator may be removed from his/her seat in the Senate. It is a voting process where the electorate decide via a referendum (a yes or no vote) whether they want the Senator to remain for the rest of his term or whether he should be lose his place as a senator in the green chamber.
STEP 1

The process for recalling a Senator is contained in Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution.

The process starts once the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) receives a petition signed by more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that Senator’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in the Senator. The petition must be signed, and arranged according to polling units, wards, Local Government Areas, and constituency.

Already, about 188,588 voters, representing 52.3 per cent of the total number of registered voters in Kogi West senatorial district, have reportedly approved his recall from the senate.

STEP 2

If the petition is valid, INEC will notify the Senator sought to be recalled, stating that it has received a petition for the recall of the Senator

STEP 3
INEC will then issue a public notice or announcement stating the date, time and location of the verification. for the petition to pass, more that half of the signatories to the petition must be verified.

STEP 4

On the designated date and location, INEC will verify the signatures to the petition. The signatories must be individuals who appear on the electoral voters’ register and if the minimum requirements for a referendum are not met, write to the petitioners dismissing the petition.

STEP 5

If more than half of the signatories to the petition are verified, INEC must conduct a referendum within 90 days of receiving the petition. The referendum will be a simple yes or no vote on whether the Senator should be recalled, and will be decided by simple majority of the votes of the persons registered to vote in that Senator’s constituency.

STEP 6

If a referendum is carried out and the voters in the constituency vote to recall the Senator, then the Chairman of the INEC is obliged to send a Certificate of Recall to the Senate President to effect the recall.

Also read: The truth about bail in Nigeria

Since the passing of the 1999 Constitution, there has been no documented case of a successful recall of a Senator in Nigeria. It appears that the process to recall Senator Melaye has crossed the first stage, we wait with excitement to find out how this goes.

For more information on simplified laws of Nigeria for the layman visit www.legitng.com

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