Those pushing for the recall of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) have a mountain to climb in the Senate as the upper chamber has said it would also verify the legitimacy of the votes before a conclusion is made.

This was the first time the Senate was reacting to the recall process of one of its members. Melaye raised the issue of his recall by his constituents on the floor of the Senate and accused Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, of sponsoring the process of his recall. Both Melaye and the Governor had been at loggerheads.

On Tuesday, the Senate via its Twitter handle said it “would also verify the legitimacy of the votes before a conclusion is made.” This was coming days after INEC began the recall process which constitutionally is a long and snaky route.

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, was quoted as saying “The recall process is dead on arrival going by the constitution,” adding that “It’s a long process after the verification of votes.”​