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 executive committee in Ayetoro Gbede, Ward 1 following his refusal to honor a summons.
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 held to examine the report of the disciplinary committee, which was created to look into accusations of anti-party activities against him.
The signatories were Ward Chairman Abayomi Osamika and Ward Yodson Dayo, Secretary.
The letter confirming the suspension sighted by our correspondent 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 suspend Dino Melaye from the Peoples Democratic Party, effective and immediately"
He claimed that Iliya Damagum, the national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and the national organizing secretary, Umar Bature, were responsible for the destruction of the party.
“The suspension is in line with provisions of Article 59 (1) of the PDP constitution which empowers the Ward party exco to take disciplinary actions against erring members.”
The 2023 Kogi State governorship candidate’s suspension was triggered by his assertion that the opposition party has been commercialized and privatized.
According to Dino, the PDP has lost its relevance in the political arena of the country in an August X post.
He claimed that Iliya Damagum, the national secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and the national organizing secretary, Umar Bature, were responsible for the destruction of 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.”
Debo Ologunagba, the PDP spokesman, refuted the claim that the party has been commercialized, stating that every party has problems and internal conflicts.
He said, “The party is not commercialized. 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 commercialized, well, I don’t know. I don’t want to speak to that. I don’t know what he means by commercialization. I would assume that commercialization means when you are selling something, and you’re receiving money for sale, which is what Melaye referred to, and that’s not correct.”
Read More
