CSO petitions INEC to recall Kano assembly speaker
A civil society organisation has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a view to recalling the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata.
The Fagge Civil Society (FCS), in its petition delivered to INEC chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu yesterday in Abuja, and obtained by Daily Trust, said the recall process was pursuant to Section 110 of the Nigerian Constitution.
Signed by the secretary general, Amar Sanusi Laure, the petitioners said, “Attached herewith are the signatures of persons registered to vote in the constituency and whose loss of confidence in the member has been accordingly expressed with the intention of recalling their representative to wit, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata of APC who also doubles as the Speaker, Kano State House of Assembly.”
In another petition to INEC, the CSO reported the Kano State INEC administrative secretary for not availing them with the necessary information on the recall process despite several letters.
“On or about the 28th day of November 2017, this organization put a formal request addressed to the said Admin Secretary pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, but all efforts to get the letter officially endorsed as received, replied or obliged failed. This is necessary because compliance with the section will necessarily require the Commission’s compliance.
“This we feel is an aberration and fundamental disregard for the laws of the country. Accordingly, therefore, we pray to the national chairman to step in and remedy the aberration,” the petition read.
After submitting the petition, Laure told Daily Trust that, “There are three major reasons for the action taken. First, he is not representing us well. He’s not doing the work we elected him to do. Second, he doesn’t operate open door policy. Third, he doesn’t meet with his constituents to know what their problems are in order to address some of them.
“Any representative of the people that can’t ensure the aforementioned is not worth to be called one. There’s big problem of course. We have to recall him so that someone who has the people at heart can go and do the job.”
Asked if there were any attempts to meet with the speaker to resolve the matter, Laure said all their efforts failed as he had been inaccessible.
On whether they were sponsored, he said no, adding that they were only concerned with the progress of their constituency.
Attempts to get reaction of the speaker were not successful as he did not pick calls put through to his mobile phone.