Determined to save his seat, Senator Dino Melaye on Wedneday, approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, begging it to declare the recall process the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, initiated against him as illegal, wrongful and unconstitutional.The Lawmaker who is currently representing Kogi West, in the appeal he lodged through his team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, prayed the appellate court to set aside the high court judgment that gave INEC the nod to act on a petition by his constituents, seeking his recall from the Senate.
He raised eight grounds of appeal he said the higher court should consider and nullify the judgment that Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered against him on Monday.
Specifically, the embattled lawmaker urged the apellate court to declare the petition purportedly presented to INEC for his recall as illegal, unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, invalid, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.
Melaye had in his suit, insisted that the petition against him was signed by dead and fictitious persons he said were not from his constituency.
Aside INEC, other respondents in the appeal he filed yesterday were three persons that masterminded the petition against him- Chief Olowo Cornelius, John Anjorin and Mrs Iyabose Owolabi.
Meanwhile, INEC, acting on the strength of the high court judgment, has already fixed timetable for the recall process which will entail the verification of signatures behind the petition against the appellant.
