2023: How Melaye contradicted himself while slamming Fayose for criticizing Atiku and Saraki

For those who know Senator Dino Melaye very well, it is common knowledge that he does have a knack for making controversial statements.

In fact, right from his days as a Lawmaker representing Kogi-west Senatorial District at the 8th National Assembly, Melaye’s uncanny ability for double-speak often left his colleagues in the Red Chamber baffled.

As was witnessed this week, it was not surprising to see that the former Lawmaker is yet to lose touch with this habit.

It may interest you to know that Nigeria’s foremost political opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently embroiled in a battle as regards its presidential ticket ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Not only are there squabbles within the party on the issue of zoning, but some stakeholders are also currently engaging in a war of words on which candidate is best suited to be the PDP’s presidential flag bearer.

Just this week, former Ekiti State Governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose lambasted the duo of Atiku Abubakar and Olubukola Saraki over their attempts to clinch the party’s sole presidential ticket.

Fayose, who is also in the race for the presidency, slammed both men for daring to become Nigeria’s president In the PDP’s platform after both men contributed to the party’s downfall by defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the runup to the 2015 general elections.

Their actions, according to the former governor, aided the APC in dethroning the then Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP government.

Fayose went on to accuse the ex-vice president and former Senate president of returning to the opposition party simply because they were not allowed to have their way in the ruling APC. He then went on to vow that he will not be coerced into stepping down for any of them.

In an interesting turn of events, however, the response to Fayose’s salvo did not come from either Saraki or Atiku, but from Dino Melaye himself.

In an official statement titled ‘Presidency not Amala and Ponmo’, released on Friday, April 8, 2022, Melaye described Fayose as a ‘jester’ and ‘presidential gambler’ who dared to criticize ‘serious contenders’ such as Atiku and Saraki.

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“Inebriated by several wraps of amala in Abuja, former governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, in his characteristic exuberance directed indecent and indecorous attacks at two serious contenders for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar and His Excellency, Bukola Saraki,” an excerpt of the statement read.

Melaye proceeded to call on the PDP leadership to ask Fayose to stop de-marketing the party’s strongest aspirants with his utterances.

Though Fayose has since responded to Melaye’s comments, that, however, will be a discussion for another time.

Instead, the remainder of this article will highlight how the former Kogi Lawmaker contradicted himself while reacting to Fayose’s criticism of Atiku and Saraki.

When one takes a closer look at Melaye’s statements quoted above, we will see where he referred to both the former VP and the ex-Senate President as two serious contenders for the PDP’s presidential ticket.

As far as Bukola Saraki is concerned, Melaye has contradicted himself. How? One might ask.

You may recall that some months ago, Dino Melaye dumped Saraki to join Atiku’s camp.

The former VP was said to have organized a crucial meeting with some National Assembly members to seek their support and endorsement in Abuja back in March and Melaye was present at the meeting, much to the surprise of the Lawmakers in attendance.

While there might be nothing wrong with a politician switching camps and forming new alliances, it was the reason Melaye gave on why he chose to dump his long-time friend and ally for Atiku’ camp that made headlines at the time.

When the former Kogi Lawmaker was asked why he chose to leave Saraki for Atiku, Melaye was quoted saying “I have stopped following aspirants. I now follow candidates.”

Judging from his comments at the time, Senator Melaye believes that when it comes to running for the presidency, Bukola Saraki is not a strong contender compared to Atiku Abubakar. He believes it is one thing to aspire to clinch the PDP’s presidential ticket but another thing to actually emerge as the party’s presidential candidate ahead of the general elections.

It is in this context that the former Lawmaker’s response to Fayose becomes quite baffling. Why speak as if Saraki and Atiku are on the same level when you had earlier stated that there was a huge gulf between both men in terms of political affluence and influence at party level?

To be honest, I think Atiku should watch his new-found friendship with Melaye very closely as the Senator might just be a mole in his camp.

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On the surface, it might seem as if Dino and Bukola have severed all ties, but underneath, there might actually be more to it than meets the eye.

After all, a Leopard has never been known to change its spots.