PDP suspends Dino Melaye over alleged anti-party activities

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended Senator Dino Melaye from Kogi State over alleged anti-party activities.

Melaye was suspended by the Kogi State PDP exco in Ayetoro Gbede, Ward 1 following his refusal to honour a summon.

The decision to suspend the former Kogi West senator was made during a meeting of the Ward party executive committee, held on Friday in Aiyetoro/Luagba Ward 1. The meeting was convened to review the report of the disciplinary committee, which had been set up to investigate allegations of anti-party activities against him.

It was signed by the Ward Chairman, Abayomi Osamika, and Ward Yodson Dayo, Secretary.

The letter confirming the suspension sighted by Intel Region reads: “Senator Dino Melaye’s conduct has brought embarrassment and disrepute to the party and his continued membership is no longer tenable.

“Therefore, the Ward party exco hereby suspends Dino Melaye from the Peoples Democratic party, effective and immediately.

“The suspension is in line with provisions of Article 59 (1) of the PDP constitution which empowers the Ward party excos to take disciplinary actions against erring members.”

The 2023 Kogi State governorship candidate’s suspension was connected to his claim that the opposition party has been commercialised and privatised.

In an August X post, Dino asserted that the PDP has lost its relevance in the country’s political space.

He accused the acting PDP national chairman, Iliya Damagum, the national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and the national organising secretary, Umar Bature, of destroying the party.

He wrote, “End of the road for PDP as Damagum, Bature and Anyanwu irredeemably destroyed the party. We will talk about the commercialisation and privatisation of PDP. PDP is now once upon a time.”

However, the PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, denied the claim that the party has been commercialised, saying every party has issues and internal wrangling.

He said, “The party is not commercialised. I don’t know what he means by that. The party is standing.

“Every party has its own challenges because they are managing people with different interests, backgrounds, considerations and aspirations, and it is the capacity of the party that makes it a successful party. Upon then, there will be challenges.

“When you have systems and processes that allow for that (challenges), it shows that the party is not properly run. At each stage, there are other organs of the party, such as the Board of Trustees, the National Executive Committee, the Governors’ Forum, and the National Working Committee.

“There are safety nets for the management of the party and for review of processes in such a way that the party can reconcile all those competing and conflicting interests, so that’s what we do. So that the party is commercialised, well, I don’t know. I don’t want to speak to that. I don’t know what he means by commercialisation. I would assume that commercialisation means when you are selling something, and you’re receiving money for sale, which is what Melaye referred to, and that’s not correct.”