Dino Melaye, the gubernatorial candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, made multiple controversial claims in a recent Channels TV interview.
The former senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, who was a guest on the Channels TV programme, Politics Today, made claims about his party, the opposition and his credentials.
CDD Election War Room checked his claims, and here is what we found.
Claim 1: The PDP is the oldest political party in the country; it is as old as the Fourth Republic.
Verification
The fourth republic kicked off in 1999 following the country’s transition to a democratic government. In 1998, the year before the “Fourth Republic,” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was founded.
What political party is the oldest?
The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) is the oldest existing political party in Nigeria. It was founded in 1978 by Mallam Aminu Kano after he defected from the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
The party is still in existence and active in the Nigerian political space. It currently has a sitting member in the House of Representatives.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was founded in 1989, is the second-oldest.
There are political parties older than the PRP, but many of them no longer exist in 2023. The first political party in Nigeria was the Nigerian National Democratic Party set up in the early 1920s by Herbert Macaulay.
Verdict: False
Although the PDP existed since the start of the Fourth Republic, the claim that it is the nation’s oldest political party is false.
Claim II: “I was best senator in 2016, 2017, and 2018 consecutively; by the press corps of the national assembly, which is the only body that gives awards for the best senator or reps in the National Assembly,” Melaye claimed.
Verification
The CDD Election War Room confirmed that in 2016, the National Assembly Press Corps named Dino Melaye “the most outstanding senator of the year,” an award presented to him by the then-senate president, Bukola Saraki.
The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), however, reportedly cancelled the Senator of the Year award that was supposed to be given to the lawmaker for the year 2017.
The union claimed that the awarding organisation, Press Corps, was not recognised by the NUJ constitution and thus lacked the authority to bestow awards.
There is no evidence of Melaye — or any other senator — receiving the said award in 2018.
The Press Corps
The National Assembly Press Corps is a group of journalists who cover plenary sessions and report on them at the National Assembly.
According to the NUJ — the Press Corps’ governing body is not legitimately authorised to present awards.
Also noteworthy is the existence of other award-giving institutions within the National Assembly, including the Legislative Aide Association and other civil society organisations.
Verdict: Inaccurate
The claim that the Press Corps is the only organisation that gives awards and that Melaye received the award three times consecutively is inaccurate.
Claim III: Melaye said in four years he carried out “over 200 projects in the length and breadth of Kogi West.”
Verification
The CDD Election War Room could find one digital footprint of a block of classrooms built by the lawmaker in 2016, a borehole water project in Kogi, and several mentions of 143 projects which he had previously institutionalised.
However, there is not enough accompanying evidence to back up the claims of their existence.
It is also worthy of note that a project billed for commissioning by the legislator was incinerated by those he claimed to be his political rivals.
Verdict: Inconclusive
Claim IV: Yahaya Bello cannot boast of one project in Kogi State.
Verification
In an effort to disparage his political rival, Dino claimed that Yahaya Bello, the incumbent governor of Kogi State, who has held the position for two terms, cannot boast of one project to his credit.
The CDD Election War Room found that the governor instituted and commissioned projects in the state during his eight-year tenure.
He commissioned the Ganaja flyover project, the Reference Hospital in Okene, the ultra-modern GYB Model Science Secondary School, and the Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre, among other projects.
Muhamadu Buhari, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was in fact invited to commission some of these projects.
Verdict: False
The claim that Yahaya Bello cannot boast of one project during his tenure as governor is false.