Yahaya Bello reacts to Dino Melaye’s loss at Appeal Court

Sade AdewaleOctober 12, 2019

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Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has reacted to the loss of Senator Dino Melaye at the Appeal Court.

The victory of Melaye as the senator representing Kogi West was on Friday, October 11, nullified by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, with a directive that the election is conducted again.

In a statement sent to journalists on Friday, October 11 by his spokesman, Onogwu Mohammed, Governor Bello commended the judgement of the Court of Appeal which upheld the earlier judgement of the Kogi state National Assembly election tribunal.

He said it further vindicates his earlier position that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) manipulated the elections.

The governor praised the judiciary, saying it has proven to be “unbiased, independent and impartial.”

He said in spite of the intimidation, unnecessary accusations and rumour-mongering, the tribunal and the Court Of Appeal “have lived up to their expectations by dispensing justice without fear or favour.”

”For upholding the petition by Senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and ordering that a fresh election be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the constituency, the tribunal, led by Justice A.O. Chijioke and the Appeal Court have jointly proved to the world that the people’s mandate was stolen in the last Kogi West Senatorial Election,” Bello said.

“The courts did not decide in a vacuum but acted on the basis of the merits and demerits of the case before them,” he added.

Meanwhile, Newsflash247 had reported that Melaye joined Nollywood just few hours after the Appeal Court affirmed the decision of the Kogi Election Petition Tribunal nullifying his victory.

The outspoken senator will be featured as one of the key actors, in a Television series titled ‘Equity unbound,” an idea of the Pillars of Hope African Initiative (POHAI).

Other prominent actors including Linc Edochie, Victor Decke, Chief Bruno Iwuola and Paul Sambo will also be featured in the TV series.

Addressing a world press conference, the Country Director of POHAI, Chinyere Onyemekara, said the main focus of the project is on ‘equal rights and sociai justices in Africa,’ using Nigeria as a case study.

“Equity unbound TV series is a soap opera that holistically ex-ray the quality of justice system in Nigeria and its attendant effect on both the masses, the elites and the government.