Senator, Dino Melaye is the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the November 11 election in Kogi State.
The former senator, who was a member of the 8th National Assembly representing Kogi West Senatorial district, is jostling to take over from the incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello in January 2024 with other top Guber candidates.
They include: All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Ododo Ahmed Usman; Leke Abejide of African Democratic Congress (ADC); Okeme Adejoh of the Labour Party and Tanimu Idris for New Nigerian People Party, (NNPP).
Dino emerged the governorship candidate of the PDP after he polled 313 votes to defeat his closest rival, Jabiru Usman, who polled 127 votes.
BIRTH & BACKGROUND
Born in Kano State in January, 1974, Melaye (43) hails from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
He is undoubtedly one of the most controversial politicians in Nigeria today who’s known as the “singing senator’ following a viral clip of him singing on social media.
Education
Dino Melaye attended Abdulaziz Attah Memorial College, Okene, for his secondary school education before heading to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to obtain a degree in geography in 2000.
POLITICAL HISTORY
Dino Melaye started as an influential student union leader in his university days as a prominent member of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)
He later served as the Secretary-General of the African Youth Council and the Commonwealth Youth Council and was appointed as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council on Youths by the then president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Melaye joined partisan politics in 2007 when he was elected to the National House of Representatives to represent Kabba/Ijumu federal constituency under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2011 general elections.
He lost his reelection to the National Assembly as a House of Representatives member but would later return to the house as a Senator in 2015, representing Kogi West.
He was pivotal in the nomination of Senator Bukola Saraki to emerge as the President of the Senate in 2015.
As a senator, Melaye served as the Chairman Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. He also chaired the Senate Committee on Aviation at a point before his exit from the distinguished house.
Dino was reelected to the senate in 2019 but would later be caught up in a ruling of a court injunction that annulled his election process and declared a rerun.
His opponent, senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressive Congress (APC), won the rerun and was declared the winner, making Dino lose his seat in the red chamber.
Marriage
Dino was formerly married to Tokunbo Melaye, who later filed for a divorce accusing Dino of subjecting her to a series of domestic abuses.
However, it was reported that Dino had a child with Nollywood actress Bisi Ibidapo Obe and another with Alero Falope, his housemaid.
AHMED USMAN ODODO
The Kogi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in April, presented Ahmed Usman Ododo as its 2023 governorship candidate. Ododo was said to have defeated six rivals at a primary election where he reportedly polled 78,704 out of 83,419 accredited voters.
Ododo is the anointed candidate of the incumbent Governor, Yahaya Bello.
The former Auditor General of the state will be contesting the state’s number one political position alongside 17 other candidates including Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dirisu Bala Abdulghafar of the NRM, Yakubu Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Omale Samson Agada of the YPP, Ilonah Idoko Kingsley of APGA and others.
Profile Of Usman Ododo
Ododo is a Nigerian politician who hails from Okene, in the Okene Local Government area of Kogi State. He is the former Auditor General of Kogi state. The APC candidate was a member of the Nigerian Youth Parliament, a special assistant to the governor and chairman of the Kogi State Youth Council.
The Kogi State politician was born on February 7, 1982, in Ogun State, South-West part of the country, making him 41 years of age at the moment.
Usman Ododo’s Educational Background
Having obtained his First School Leaving Certificate and West African Senior School Certificate, Ododo proceeded to the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he obtained a degree in Political science.
Professional Affiliation And Certificates
The Kogi APC governorship candidate is observed to have earned himself some certifications from professional bodies and associations relevant to his profession as he continues to build his portfolio.
Odod is a member of the:
- Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) as a registered Professional
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Finance & Control of Nigeria (CIFCN)
- Certified Participant of the Chartered Institute of Finance & Control of Nigeria (CIFCON)
- Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria
- Chartered Member of the Nigeria Institute of Management
- Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) among others
Working Experience:
Before his ambition to become the governor of Kogi State, Ododo had quietly had a track record of working experience with the state government, among others.
From 1997 until his eventual appointment as Auditor General for Local Government in Kogi State, Ododo worked as Kogi State industrial Training Personnel from 1997 to 1998 at his alma mater, Local Government Secondary School, Upogoro-Okene.
Ododo had work experience with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in Owerri, Imo State, during his NYSC assignment from 2002-2003.
The Kogi State indigene also had a stint at the National Power Training Institute of Nig (NAPTIN) as its Manager of Finance and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria PLC, Kontagora as Assistant Manager of Revenue and Power Holding Company of Nigeria PLC, Kontagora as Disbursement Officer from 2005-2007.
In 2016, Governor Yahaya Bello, during his first tenure, appointed Ododo as the Auditor General For the Local Government of Kogi State.
Family And Hobbies
The Kogi APC governorship candidate is married with children. Naija News understands that Ododo, besides politics and others, loves playing Table Tennis, volleyball, and teaching which reportedly forms parts of his hobbies.
TIMIPRE SYLVA
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a few months ago announced that the governorship election in Bayelsa State will be held on the 11th of November, 2023.
We understand that the immediate-past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva emerged as the candidate of the APC.
Sylva polled 52,061 votes to defeat five other contenders to win the governorship ticket at the party’s primary election.
However, the emergence of Sylva as the candidate of the APC has stirred reactions as some politicians in the state believe the former Governor had been elected twice and should not contest in the forthcoming election.
The controversy saw Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a judgement delivered in the suit filed on June 13, 2023, by a member of the APC, Deme Kolomo sack Sylva as APC governorship candidate.
The Judge explained that Sylva having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.
In his view, Sylva was not qualified to run in the November poll because if he won and was sworn in, he would spend more than eight years in office as governor of the state.
Sylva and APC, however, have vowed to appeal the judgment of the court.
Here are some things to know about Sylva:
– Sylva was born on 7 July 1964 in Brass, Bayelsa (formerly Rivers State, of which Bayelsa State was split off in 1996)
Education Background
– Sylva graduated from the University of Port Harcourt with distinction in English (Linguistics) in 1986.
– At the time, he was the best-graduating student from his department and departmental valedictorian.
– He was subsequently awarded a Doctor in International Relations (Honoris causa) by UBIS University in 2011.
– Sylva was awarded his second Doctorate (Honoris Causa) in Public Administration on the 2nd of December 2020 by AiPA (African Institute of Public Administration), Leading Edge Foundation and LBBS.
Political Background
– Sylva’s political career started in 1992 when he won a seat in the House of Assembly Election representing Brass constituency in old Rivers State.
– His political career continued when he was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Petroleum in 2004 under the auspices of Dr Edmund Daukoru.
– As a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sylva won the 2007 Bayelsa State gubernatorial election.
– Sylva’s opponent in the 2007 election, Ebitimi Amgbare of the Action Congress, legally challenged his victory.
– Although the Bayelsa State Election Petitions Tribunal upheld Sylva’s election, Amgbare took the matter to the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt which overturned the Tribunal’s decision and nullified Sylva’s election on April 15, 2008.
– The Appeal Court’s five justices were unanimous in their decision and ordered that Speaker Werinipre Seibarugo be sworn in to replace Sylva as acting Governor, with a new election to be held within three months.
– A new election was held on May 24, 2008, and Sylva, again running as the PDP candidate, was overwhelmingly elected with 588,204 out of about 598,000 votes.
– He was sworn in again on May 27, saying on this occasion that he would form a broadly inclusive unity government.[10] On January 27, 2012, his tenure was terminated by the Supreme Court with an acting governor appointed to oversee the state until the election of February 2012.
– Sylva was appointed by President Buhari on Wednesday, August 21, 2019, as the Nigerian Cabinet Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.
Comments are closed