My Loyalty to Atiku Won’t Stop Me from Criticising Him — Dino Melaye

Former Kogi West senator, Dino Melaye, has stated that while he remains loyal to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, that loyalty does not exempt Atiku from criticism when necessary. Speaking during an appearance on *Politics Today* on Channels Television, Melaye addressed public perceptions that he blindly follows the former vice-president, clarifying that he maintains independent political principles.

Melaye, who recently left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC), emphasized that his long-standing relationship with Atiku does not make him a political appendage. “I am not a teen, and I’ve won elections in this country to the house of representatives, to the senate. If there’s convergence of ideology with Atiku Abubakar, it’s a fantastic thing, but I am a man of my own,” he said. “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.”

The former Kogi State governorship candidate also discussed the ADC’s plans ahead of the 2027 presidential election. He expressed confidence that the party is positioning itself to field a candidate capable of defeating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He described the ADC as a national platform for those genuinely committed to rescuing Nigeria from its current challenges.

“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. Drawing an analogy with a religious conversion, Melaye added, “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.”

While acknowledging that not everyone in the ADC is perfect, Melaye said the shared motivation is a genuine concern for Nigeria’s future. “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.”

In the lead-up to the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, then PDP presidential candidate, appointed Melaye as his campaign spokesperson.