Melaye’s recall: INEC insists it will not succumb to blackmail

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, who is reportedly out of the country, has instructed that the Commission should challenge the court order stopping the Senator Dino Melaye‘s recall process.
In a statement released on Saturday, INEC said Yakubu is not, “succumbing to blackmail,” that was rumoured to have come from the Senate.

“It may be of interest here to note that the INEC chair is out of the country.
“He left last weekend and was not part of the meeting (some days ago) where the decision was taken to obey the court order.

“He had however earlier sought and agreed with legal advice and instructed that the Commission should challenge any court order and the competence of the action when word got out last week that Senator Dino Melaye had filed a suit trying to stop his recall.
“If indeed there was a threat of blackmail (overt or otherwise), Prof Yakubu from his words and action isn’t succumbing to it.
“In any case, he isn’t a sole administrator and all 12 members of the commission have a say in decision making and there’s a consensus in our approach to challenge the Senator’s suit. INEC should be allowed to do its work, regardless of the outcome,” the statement reads.