Dino Melaye: My loyalty to Atiku won’t stop me from criticising him

Dino Melaye, former senator and ex-governorship candidate in Kogi state, says his loyalty to Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, will not prevent him from speaking out when necessary.

Speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television on Friday, Melaye dismissed claims that he follows Atiku blindly, describing such assertions as baseless.

“I am not a teen, and I’ve won elections in this country to the house of representatives, to the senate,” he said.

“If there’s a convergence of ideology with Atiku Abubakar, it’s a fantastic thing, but I am a man of my own.

“By the grace of God, I have an indestructible relationship with Atiku Abubakar, but that does not mean I don’t have principles as a human being… When Atiku is not doing the right things, I will say so.”

Melaye served as spokesperson for Atiku’s campaign during the 2023 general election when the former vice-president contested as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He has since defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) alongside Atiku and is now rallying support for the new platform ahead of the 2027 elections.

Melaye said the ADC offers a fresh political space for those committed to national renewal.

“Those of us in the ADC need to create a comfortable, stable platform. And I believe that platform will produce a candidate that will unseat President Ahmed Bola Tinubu in 2027,” he said.

“Why Nigerians should think differently about the ADC is that once there’s an altar call in the church of God—only those who are emotionally affected, have a conscience, and are ready to leave darkness and move into light respond. So, ADC is a national altar call.

“Not everybody in ADC is a saint, but what I’m telling you is that everybody who moved into ADC is concerned about Nigeria.”

He added that should Atiku emerge as the party’s presidential candidate again, his loyalty will not stop him from challenging his policies where necessary.

“We want to see a Nigeria where we’ll be able to answer questions from our grandchildren who will ask us, when we’re 90 and toothless, ‘When Nigeria was being destroyed, Grandpa, what did you do?’ We want to be able to say we did A, B, C, and D,” he said.

It remains unclear whether Atiku will contest again in 2027 or retain Melaye as his campaign spokesperson if he does.