Controversial politician, Dino Melaye, has revisited the retirement of Bishop David Abioye from  the Living Faith Church Worldwide.

He said it was not an act of God but that of the church’s founder, Bishop David Oyedepo.

He thus criticised the absence of Bishop David Abioye from Shiloh 2024, the annual gathering organised by the Living Faith Church Worldwide.

Melaye, a known public commentator, took to social media to express his disapproval, suggesting that the retirement of Bishop Abioye, a younger senior pastor, raises questions about the church’s leadership structure.

“I did not attend Shiloh 2024. Because Shiloh without Bishop Abioye is somehow. I can’t understand why Bishop Oyedepo, who is older, is not retired, and it is Bishop Abioye who is younger that should be forcefully retired,” Melaye tweeted, further alleging that the decision was man-made rather than divinely orchestrated.

“God did not retire Abioye, only Oyedepo did. Let’s watch,” he added in an X post on his official account on Sunday.

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dino Melaye seems to have a long way to go in the Saturday’s election.

The reason is that the All Progressives Congress  counterpart, Usman Ododo, is currently leading other candidates in the race.

This is as the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, has officially announced the results from 18 out of the 21 Local Government Areas of the state on Sunday.

The LGAs where election results had been collated and declared included Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ankpa, Bassa, Dekina, Idah, Ijumu, Kabba-Bunu, Kogi, Mopamuro, Ofu, Okehi, Okene, Olamaboro, Omala, Yagba East and Yagba West, while the results from only one ward in Ogori Magongo LGA was received and announced.

From the 18 LGA results already declared so far, Ododo is leading with 417,166 votes, the Social Democratic Party candidate, Murtala Ajaka, is trailing far behind with 208,503 votes, while  Melaye is distantly behind with 41,925 votes.

The APC candidate won in 11 LGAs out of the 18 declared so far, namely; Adavi, Ajaokuta, Bassa, Ijumu, Kabba-Bunu, Kogi, Mopamuro, Ogori Magongo, Okehi, Okene, and Yagba West, while the SDP candidate won in Ankpa, Idah, Dekina, Ofu, Olamaboro and Omala LGAs, with ADC candidate Leke Abejide winning only the Yagba East LGA, so far.

It is expected that the outstanding results from Ibaji, Lokoja and Igalamela-Odolu LGAs will be announced once the collation centre reconvenes by 4 p.m. for the conclusion of the exercise on Sunday.

The Gvernorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dino Melaye, has described as a scam the election in Okene, Ajaokuta and some other local government areas in the Saturday exercise.

He thus demanded cancellation

The LGAs, according to Melaye are Okene, Okehi, Ajaokuta, Adavi, and Ogori/Mangogo.

The candidate alleged that the results from the units were compromised.

Posting via his official X account, Melaye said, “INEC must cancel the election in the 5 local governments of Kogi-Central.  The election in Okene, Okehi, Ajaoukuta, Adavi, and Ogori/Mangogo is a scam coordinated from the highest level of INEC.”

The PUNCH earlier reported that Melaye failed to show up at his polling unit situated at Iluafon quarters, Aiyetoro 1, Ijumu Local Government Area of the state. Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had also visited his polling units.

Dino, alongside the candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Leke Abejide, popularly referred to as “Elder” are the two major candidates gunning for the position of governor from the Kogi West Senatorial District.

Electoral observers say Abejide who is a serving lawmaker may affect Dino’s chances at the governorship polls.

Sen. Dino Melaye, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Saturday’s Kogi governorship poll has pledged to rebuild the state in four years if elected as governor.
Melaye said this at the party’s grand finale campaign rally held in Lokoja on Thursday.

“In 4 years, we are going to build the new Lokoja. York was in existence before New York came to be. Zealand was there before New Zealand came. Delhi was there before New Delhi came.

“So by the grace of God, if you voted me in as governor, in 4 years, we are going to build new Lokoja.

“Kogi is a strategic state. It is the richest state in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are blessed with mineral resources from uranium, to titanium, to lithium, to gold, to crude oil.

“It’s unfortunate that the only mineral that has been tapped out of all these numerous resources is limestone. We are going to tap the rest. We will explore them. We will develop them. We will commercialize them, ” he said.

Melaye said he was well trained student of former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku.
“We will distribute them. And we will improve our IGR for development of the state and better standard of living,” he said.

The PDP Candidate, said that he was most educated, most experienced and most exposed among the 18 Candidates taking part in the poll and called for massive votes from the residents.

Also speaking, Atiku described Melaye as most qualified candidate to lead Kogi and deliver it from poverty and backwardness.

Atiku called on the people of Kogi to rally round Melaye on Saturday and give him blog votes that would be the catalyst for the liberation of the state out if the poisonous APC administration of Gov. Yahaya Bello.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has appointed Sen. Dino Melaye as its Screening Committee Chairman for the South-West zonal executive congress.

The party stated this in a statement issued by its National Organising Secretary, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd.) in Abuja on Friday.

Akobundu said that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) also approved the nomination of Mrs Emilia Ezude as Secretary to the committee.

He listed other members of the committee to include: Sen. Shetimma Laah, Mr Ekeleme Ikieje and Egede Isreal.

Akobundu said that the committee’s mandate was to screen all aspirants for the zonal executive committee positions.

The screening exercise, according to him, is scheduled for Saturday April 10 at Osogbo, Osun.

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, fixed June 30 to deliver judgment in the suit filed by Dino Melaye challenging the passage of the Infectious Diseases Bill

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu fixed the date after taking arguments from parties in the case.

The bill, which is sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and two other lawmakers – Pascal Obi and Tanko Sununu- seeks to empower the Federal Government to convert any property in the country, including private property, to isolation centres.

The bill also seeks to empower the government to, upon mere suspicion that a person is infected with an infectious disease, arrest and detain the person for as long as necessary, among others.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Melaye had, on May 5, claimed that the provisions of the Bill violate his fundamental rights, among which are rights to the dignity of person, personal liberty, right to private and family life, right to freedom of movement and right to own immovable property in Nigeria.

While the clerk of the National Assembly is the 1st respondent, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Attorney General of the Federal (AGF) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) are 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents respectively in the suit.

Justice Ojukwu had, on June 1, adjourned the matter until June 15 while advising parties to restrain themselves from actions that could jeopardise the suit.

Earlier, Counsel to Melaye, Nkem Okoro told the court that the matter was for continuation of hearing.

Okoro urged the court to grant all the reliefs sought by his client in the application.

However, Kayode Ajulo, Counsel to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; lawyer to the AGF, M.L. Shiru and Kehinde Oluwole, who represented IGP, urged the court to strike out the matter for lack of merit.

They argued that a bill, which was yet to become a law, could not have infringed on the plaintiff’s fundamental rights.

In her argument, Shiru, who represented the AGF, stated that the country’s constitution provided for separation of powers among the three organs of government.

“And in explaining this doctrine of separation of powers my lord, we refer the honourable court to the case of AGF and Guardian Newspapers.

The citation are supplied in our preliminary objection my lord,” she said.

According to her, in view of the principle of separation of powers as applicable, we are quite aware that the honourable court can interfere in legislative processes when there is only a defiance from the provisions of the constitution.

“However, this power can only be exercised in respect of enacted laws and not legislative bills and we urge your lordship to uphold our submissions in the preliminary objection and decline to grant the reliefs of the applicant,” she remarked.

She stressed that the National Assembly had the powers to make and amend laws as provided by the constitution.

The lawyer said although Melaye had laid emphasises on Sections 6, 29, 30 and 47 of the proposed bill, she urged the court to “dismiss all the reliefs sought by the applicant on the provisions of the bill as vexatious and annoying.”

According to her, the application falls short of fundamental rights application.

“The applicant has not proved that the bill infringe on his fundamental rights.

“A bill is not a law yet and if it is not a law, how can it infringe on his right.

“Therefore, application of the applicant should be discountenance by the court,” Shiru said.

The lawyer asked the court to also award a cost against the applicant (Melaye) for bringing such application before the court.

Sen. Dino Melaye (PDP-Kogi West) says his ambition to run for Kogi governorship election is borne out of agitation, clarion call and passion from people of the state.

Melaye said this while speaking with newsmen shortly after obtaining his nomination and expression of interest forms at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.

He said that there was dire need of a competent leader to recover Kogi from insecurity, unemployment, nonpayment of salaries and pension as well as depleted economy.

The lawmaker pledged to revive all the ministries, departments and agencies in the state and restore the hope of the people.

“We will look at tapping the available of over 200 mineral resources in Kogi. We will look at environment, agriculture, we will tap into mining.

“We will look at education that is bedrock of our people that has completely collapsed. Our children have spent more time at home than in school in the last four years.

“Our workers, elders, pensioners are dying for not being able to pay for their daily drugs. Many are hypertensive and diabetic but they cannot service these ailments because government has refused to pay salaries and pensions,’’ he said.

Melaye said his administration would focus on people, diversification of projects, tourism and entrainment, education as well as agriculture, if elected.

“I will diversify the state economy by investing in tourism and entertainment industry that would make the state a tourist attraction to the world.

“We will be less independent on what is coming from the national. I assure you that Kogi women will see development like never before.’’

Another aspirant from the state, who is a renowned expert of Public Private Partnerships, Mr Aminu Suleiman, said that Kogi was in dear need of change of good leadership.

He said that the state needed a visionary leader that would address insecurity and lack of payment of salary to workers, saying educational infrastructure in the state is worrisome.

“I believe with my pedigree, this is something we are going to do better. You know that, importantly in governance the people should enjoy welfare and security. Unfortunately, this is not available in our state.

Suleiman pledged to harness the state’s untapped resources to implement new minimum wage if elected as governor.

“It may interest you to know that Kogi state is the second most endowed state in Nigeria.

“You will agree with me that even though a lot of states in northern Nigeria do not have industry, but Kogi in the north is having one of the biggest industries and its still functioning.

“What that mean is that it also serve as another source of revenue. Also you will agree with me that there are some untapped natural resources in the state,” the aspirantsaid.

Besides, Suleiman pledged to improve on the state infrastructure and as well as use empowerment programme to address insecurity in the state, saying prevention is better than cure