As written by Comrade Chigozie Daniel ( a public writer and media analyst).
Recall OUK now – He is insulting the collective intelligence of the informed people of Abia North and damaging our moral reputation which puts a question mark on our collective moral sense, integrity and credibility as a people for allowing such an individual into an important political position as the senate( Bearing in mind the orchestrated blunder committed by INEC during the 2019 senatorial district election in Abia north that fraudulently paved way for him to temporarily occupy the senate seat).
How can a man facing 39 counts charge of money laundering to the tune of N7.6billion he committed during his time as a governor be allowed to represent Abia north as a senator.
More revelation of his fraud as a governor are popping up, the recent Ugwueke road project scam that trended few days back is also an embarrassment to Abia north for producing such a corrupted leader as a senator.
The support for RUGA agenda against the wish of his people, the national embarrassment he is causing Abia north in the Senate chamber is enormous. How can he claim that the erosion menace in Isuikwuato and Umunneochi is a new development whereas he couldn’t account for the ecological funds he collected from then president of Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo during his time as a governor.
In a civilized world, such an office holder will resign to face his trial and prove his integrity but it doesn’t work in this part of the world.
The only available means to avert more embarrassment and the laughing stock Abia north senatorial seat has turned to, is recall.
Recall is the legitimate way of passing vote of no confidence to a House of Assembly member in this case.
RECALLING A
NIGERIAN SENATOR
A recall is the process through which a validly 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 recalled. The process for recalling a Senator is contained in Section 69 of the 1999 Constitution.
STAGE 1: PETITION
The process to recall a Senator is started 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.
STAGE 2: VERIFICATION
If the petition is valid, the Commission will
proceed to: Notify the Senator sought to be recalled, stating that it has received a petition for the recall of the Senator
Then issue a public notice or announcement stating the date, time and location of the verification.
Verify the signatures to the petition at the
designation. The signatories must be individuals who appear on the electoral voters’ register.
STAGE 3: REFERENDUM
If the minimum requirements for a referendum are met, the INEC must then conduct a referendum within 90 days of receipt of 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. If a referendum is carried out and the voters in that 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.
The two options to end the embarrassment is through judiciary( on going) and recall.
While we wait for judiciary to correct the blunder INEC committed, the process of recall is also going on eminently because ndi Abia north can not fold their arms to watch an office occupied by prestigious and illustrious sons of Abia north turned into a national laughing stock.
Instead of moving motions and sponsoring bills, he will be busy with his fraud case, campaigning for RUGA agenda and acclaimed letter writing.
That’s not the kind of senator Abia north deserve. Even most people that supported him before election are reeling in regrets and waiting for opportunity to retrace their step except few conscienceless individuals.
The time to recall ouk is now, every patriotic Abia north indigene must rise up to save our face, honor and dignity.
Arise Abia north patriots!
By the special grace of God we shall be victorious.
