Denies overtures to Buhari, APC governors.
The trial of Senator representing Kogi West senatorial district, Senator Dino Melaye over certain criminal charges continues on Thursday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo Abuja.
Senator Melaye is facing six-count criminal charges before Justice Sylvester Orji. The charges, findings revealed included attempted suicide, attempt to escape from police custody, damage to police property, mischiefs and threat to public servants.
Justice Orji had at the last sitting adjourned to October 3 and 10 for the embattled senator to present his witnesses and close his case.
But there has been an unconfirmed report that Senator Melaye has been making overtures to certain governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress who have the ears of President Muhammadu Buhari to seek soft landing for him by ensuring that the charges against him were quashed.
A party source further argued that it was on the basis of the alleged deal that the senator representing Kogi west rebuffed moves by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party who wanted him to assume the position of Director-General of the Wada Campaign Organisation ahead of the November 16 governorship election.
Senator Melaye who was incidentally one of the aspirants for the PDP ticket lost out to Engineer Musa Wada.
The latter won the ticket having polled a total of 748 votes to defeat his closed opponent Ibrahim Abubakar, who polled 710 votes.
Senator Melaye came a distant fourth in the result declared by the election committee headed by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri.
The senator representing Kogi west gave no reason for declining to accept the assignment of the Director-General of the Kogi State Governorship Campaign Council.
In a message he released on his twitter handle, he only wrote: “Let me state categorically that I have turned down the position of the Director-General of the Kogi State Governorship Campaign Council.
“I wish PDP all the best. When the truth is a casualty, there is chaos.”
A source close to Senator Melaye, however, dismissed insinuation of overtures to either President Buhari or the incumbent governor and APC candidate in the forthcoming election, Governor Yahaya Bello.
He told Tribune Online that Senator Melaye had publicly denied the allegation that he rejected the appointment of a DG for the PDP candidate in order to secretly work for the APC candidate.
He said: “It isn’t true. Yes, he has some of the APC governors as his friends. If you recall at the elaborate burial ceremony for his late mum, some of them were there.
“But he isn’t using them to make any overture to Governor Bello. He has said it publicly that, it is the last thing he would do. As I talk to you, he is in Dubai with Atiku Abubakar but he will be in the country by tomorrow (Wednesday) to face his trial.”
Credit: Tribune
