Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate, Senator Dino Melaye has described the judgment of the Election Petition Tribunal in Kogi State nullifying his election as travesty of justice, which will collapse at the Court of Appeal.
The Senator, who stated this when he appeared on ARISE News Channel, said the judgment is a deliberate plan to distract him from his governorship ambition.
According to him, “The judgment yesterday is a travesty and miscarriage of justice and like I said there were importation of alien and facts and evidence that were not peculiar to the case at all and I also want to educate Nigerians that there was a dissenting judgment given by the chairman of the tribunal. Very sound judgment in fact. So I want to say that without gainsaying that the judgment will collapse in the Court of Appeal because as a law student when a judgment is concocted and do not meet the grounds upon which they were given it will be a nullity.”
He added, “In fact the petitioners were granted what they did not even ask for. I want to believe that these are very viable grounds of appeal and I want to say that it was a deliberate plan to distract me from my governorship ambition knowing full well that I am the person to beat and I have the capacity to send Yahaya Bello out of government house. The only way an election is going to take place in Kogi West is when I an sworn in as governor and a vacancy is declared in that seat and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will take it.”
Melaye said he will be able to seat at plenary when the senate resume from recess because he has not been removed as Senator as notice of appeal has already been filed.
“It is already a convention and practice in the senate that until the matter is decided at the final court, I am the Senator representing Kogi West and I and want to assure you that nothing will happen to my mandate. The fear of Kogi governor to leave the government house is definite I am going to defeat him in a general election and I want assure you that Kogi people will be liberated from hunger, poverty, perfidy and maladministration, “he said.
Samson Oyedeyi
