Appeal court dismisses Melaye’s case against recall

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed an appeal by Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, challenging the validity of the process of his recall embarked upon by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The unanimous judgment of a three-man panel of the appeal court also dismissed the suit which Melaye had filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge the validity of the recall process.

With the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of the suit, the preconditions earlier given by the Federal High Court in Abuja for INEC to fulfill before continuing the recall had been set aside.

The appeal court’s judgment has therefore paved the way for INEC to continue the recall process which had been stalled since June 23, 2017 when Melaye commenced the suit.

The court ruled that contrary to Melaye’s contention, the 90 days provided by the 1999 Constitution for the recall process to be concluded had not run out but had been paused since July 6, 2017, when Justice Tsoho of the Federal High Court made an order halting the process.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja, to whom the case was later reassigned, had in his judgment delivered on September 11, 2017,  dismissed Melaye’s suit, but gave a pre-condition for INEC to continue with the recall exercise.

As the pre-condition for the process to continue INEC, ordered the electoral body to serve the senator with the recall petition and the accompanying documents, including the signatures of the about one-half of the constituents calling for his (Melaye’s) recall.

But Melaye had appealed against the Federal High Court’s judgment.

But delivering the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal on Friday, Justice Tunde Awotoye, substantially affirmed the judgment of Justice Dimgba but held that the Federal High Court ought not to have heard the case as the suit did not disclose any cause of action against INEC.

The court also dismissed the allegation of denial of fair hearing leveled against INEC by Melaye.

The court added that the powers of INEC to conduct a recall process was given by the Constitution and such the could not be taken away even by the court.

The court held, “The powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a statutory one given by the constitution and not even the court can take away the powers of INEC to conduct a referendum. “

Breaking: Tiwa Savage files for divorce from hubby

Popular Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage has allegedly filed for divorce from her estranged husband Tunji Balogun, a.k.a TeeBillz.

According to media reports, all attempts by the couple to resolve their differences have failed, and Tiwa has decided to formally call it quit, citing ‘unsolvable issues’ as the reason for the decision.

Tiwa-Savage-and-Tee-Billz

However, Tiwa a.k.a ‘Marvin Record First Lady’, is yet to confirm nor deny the divorce issue.

The embattled couple have not been together since their marital crisis in 2016; Teebillz made their marital issues public as he wanted to commit suicide by attempting to jump into the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

The duo then engaged in ‘war of words’ on the social media, as Teebillz alleged infidelity, among other accusations, on the part of his estranged wife.

Tiwa, who shares a son with Teebillz, in turn granted a 45 minutes video interview to debunk the accusations.

However, fans and industry watchers had assumed all was now well with the couple when many of their friends, colleagues and family members intervened, urging them to reconcile their differences.

Tee Billz had to testify on social media that all was now well with him, after he went through rehabilitation process in the hand of a seasoned life style coach, Lanre Olusola.

He said: “The way I handle things now is completely different from how I acted in the past.

“I do better now because I know better, and If I had gone through the experience before now, it probably wouldn’t make sense to me until I go through some challenging situations.

“But I thank God that I have been able to overcome all those through the guidance of my coach.”

However, it seems things had taken a different turn as the estranged couple who were said to be resolving issues, have finally given up on each other.

Savage signed a recording contract with Mavin Records in 2012, also signed a management and publishing deal with Roc Nation in June 2016, which she later confirmed via Instagram.

She co-wrote the track “Collard Greens & Cornbread” off Fantasia Barrino’s Grammy-nominated album, Bact to Me.

Savage was featured on Solar Plexus, a compilation album released by Mavin Records.

Her debut studio album, `Once Upon a Time,’ was released on 3 July 2013.

It was supported by the singles “Kele Kele Love’’, “Love Me (3x)”, “Without My Heart”, “Ife Wa Gbona”, “Folarin”, “Olorun Mi” and “Eminado’’.
Savage’s second studio album, `R. E. D’, was released on 19 December 2015.

It produced the singles “My Darlin’”, “African Waist” and “If I Start To Talk”.

She is a recipient of many awards including, MTV Africa Music Award, The Headies Awards, Channel O Music Award, Nigeria Music Video Award, and City Peple Entertainment Awards among others.

NAN