Dino and the others had insisted that the results inputed on the Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (iREV) from the different state Colation centers must be projected on a screen so they can compare it with the ones presented manually by state collation officers for the presidential election (SCOPs). They also insisted that the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu must not accept the results of Ekiti state alleging that there were incidents of over-voting and electoral irregularities.

In reaction, Melaye, Ihedioha and about four others  stormed out of the national collation centre.

In the message, Bishop Kukah said there would have been a coup if a non-northern Muslim president practised nepotism like Buhari.

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum has since called for the arrest and prosecution of Bishop Kukah over his message.

Dino took to his Twitter handle to react to the call.

He tweeted “Arrest or try to embarrass Bishop Kukah and we will prove to you that Government is not owned by you but the people. They want to scare everybody. Ko jooooo. Kill fear and speak the truth to power”

The panel upheld the judgment delivered on June 10, 2020, by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which sat in Abuja and affirmed the declaration of Adeyemi as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The appellate court, which struck out Adeyemi’s preliminary objection, awarded N50, 000 cost against Melaye and in favour of the respondents.

Over the weekend, the deputy National Spokesperson of the APC, Yekini Nabena, released a statement in which he called on EFCC and other security agencies to investigate the links between Hushpuppi and some PDP stalwarts.

According to Nabena, some of the PDP chieftains like Dino Melaye, Atiku Abubakar, Yakubu Dogara, and Bukola Saraki have been photographed with Hushpuppi and so they must be investigated for any possible links.

Reacting to Nabena’s statement, Dino said he will not be glorifying the party with a response. Taking to his Instagram page, he wrote “I will not glorify a religiously lunatic character nor the caretaker party(APC) with a response on Hushpuppy. SDM”

Secondus in the company of the PDP Vice Presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Peter Obi, Dino Melaye and other chieftains, took to the streets of Abuja to protest the January 14th judgement by the Supreme court nullifying Emeka Ihedioha’s election and replacing him with APC’s Hope Uzodinma

Reacting to the protest said the fact that the PDP members decided to hold the protest in Abuja showed they had an ulterior motive which was to topple the Buhari government. He said they should stop protesting as it was God who made him Governor.

He said “The motive of those who are wearing black, protesting around the country is not about the Imo State governorship election. If it is the Imo State governorship election, why are PDP members protesting in Abuja, Bayelsa and everywhere in the country? Why are they not protesting only in Imo State? PDP wants to overthrow the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. I, therefore, use this medium to call on all the security agencies to begin an investigation into the organised synchronised national crisis, which the PDP is plotting. I want you to keep supporting the government of President Buhari. You all know that I was the frontrunner candidate during the 2019 governorship election in Imo State. I did not challenge the election on the grounds of violence. I challenged the election on the grounds that INEC refused to accept the results of 388 polling units it accepted at the collation centres. The Tribunal did not understand our petition. The Appeal Court gave us a minority judgement, but the Supreme Court, in its wisdom, understood our petition and gave judgement in our favour. I am already the governor and I am in charge of Imo State Government House. Why would anybody challenge the integrity and wisdom of the Supreme Court justices? The Supreme Court justices gave us a majority judgement. The seven justices of the Supreme Court delivered their judgement in our favour. The same God who made me governor will sustain me. Nobody becomes governor without God’s approval. Don’t be afraid. I am in charge here and we will keep supporting and praying for our president to succeed.”

The senator is facing a six count criminal charges of attempted suicide, escape from police custody, damage to police property, mischief’s, and threat to public servants.

Melaye was “assisted” to enter the court room by two of his aides who claimed he could not walk alone.

Benson Igbanoi informed the trial court that he was injured in the last Governorship primary election conducted in Lokoja last week Tuesday when gunmen invaded the stadium, venue of the primary.

Justice Sylvester Orji, in his ruling, accepted the defendant’s plea and adjourned to October 3 and 10, 2019, for the defendant to open and close his case.

Dino Melaye was sacked as the senator representing the Kogi West Senatorial district by a three-man panel of the Tribunal led by Justice Anthony Chijioke. The tribunal also ordered a fresh election.

Reacting to this, Dino called the All Progressives Congress, Smart Adeyemi as his ‘political wife’, Dino who contested the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party stated that the minority judgement was delivered by the chairman of the panel and he described it as “exclusive and wonderful”.

He said “I want to assure you that Smart Adeyemi is my political wife; I defeated him in 2015, I defeated him in 2019 and any day any time, he is my political wife. I want to say that I cannot be distracted and I will not be distracted. My name is Daniel; I will not fall … I am focused on my governorship ambition and we will get it. The only time there will be election for the seat of the Senate in Kogi West is after I am sworn in as the governor of Kogi State. That will necessitate vacancy but before then, there will be no by-election as a result of attempted robbery that is going on right now. Spiritually we are already in the court of appeal; physically we will be there on Monday. The only election that will be conducted is the governorship election that I will win. My mandate is secured, my mandate is guaranteed.”

He reacted to the verdict in several tweets on Friday, appealing to his fans not to be worried.

In the tweet with a picture and a caption; “He who laugh(sic) last, laugh best…KOGI Governor loading.”

He said in a second tweet, in the aftermath of the verdict.

“On Tribunal judgement. No cause 4 alarm at all. Even if it went my way they will still go to the Appeal Court. Our mandate can not be taken. We will get judgment at the Appeal Court. There will be fresh election in Kogi West bc I will be Governor. For my Senate mandate no shaking,” he said.

Melaye, who is also gunning for the Kogi governorship post in November believes he “will laugh last’, insinuating that his rival’s victory at the tribunal was pyrrhic because ‘there will be fresh election in Kogi West and he will be governor”.

Recall that Melaye in February 2109 election had polled a total of 85,395 votes to defeat his APC opponent who scored 66,902 votes.

But the APC candidate, Sam Adeyemi proceeded to challenge the declaration on three grounds of irregularities, overvoting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

According to Vanguard, the three-man panel led by Justice A. O. Chijioke, in a unanimous judgment on Friday, accepted Adeyemi’s ground and ordered for another election in the senatorial district.

Details later…