Dino Melaye |
The authorities of the Ahmadu Bełlo University, Zaria, are
still meeting over the alleged certificate scandal against Senator Dino Melaye
representing Kogi-West senatorial district in Kogi State.
The Information Officer of the institution, Mr. Adam
Mohammed, had told our correspondent on Tuesday that the management would take
a decision on the matter and make its finding public on Wednesday.
“We are gathering all the facts from the faculty and
department, and will make a press statement tomorrow. Thanks,” he said.
But the entire saga took a twist on Wednesday as the
Information Officer rebuffed repeated calls to his cell phone.
When he was called with a number not known to him, he picked
the call, but as soon as he discovered that the call was from The PUNCH, he
became hostile.
He said, “ABU is not a motor park institution. We have ways
of checking our systems for facts and records on such an issue. If your
newspaper wants any information on the Melaye issue or any issue at all, you
can write the vice-chancellor,” he said.
When reminded that he had promised that the university’s
management would meet on the matter on Wednesday and give its position on
Melaye’s academic status concerning his BSc degree in Geography, Mohammed
declined and hung up.
But feelers from ABU indicated that the authorities were
still meeting as regards the Melaye case.
A top source at the institution, who pleaded not to be
named, said there appeared to be a problem with the senator’s Bachelor’s degree
in Geography, adding that the management was being careful because of the
political implication of the matter.
Another source, however, told our correspondent that the
‘social media’ report on the issue was unreliable.
“What I can tell you is that I know that the senator in the
eye of the storm, I think, he did his Master’s in International Relations and
Diplomacy (MIAD) in the university and ABU, as an organised university, cannot
admit any student without a first degree to study for a postgraduate degree.
“But I don’t know whether he used the BSc degree in
Geography to apply for admission or not. For me, I don’t see anything wrong in
the university issuing a statement to clear the air on the matter,” the source
stated.
Meanwhile, Melaye has expressed his intension to drag an
online news medium, Sahara Reporters, before a court on Thursday.
Melaye wants to sue for defamation and will be demanding
N5bn compensation from Sahara Reporters.
This is despite that the fact that the Senate, on Tuesday,
decided to investigate the allegation based on a point of order raised by a
former Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, calling for a probe
into the scandal.
Melaye’s intension to take legal action against the news
medium was made known on Wednesday when he invited the Senate Press Corps to a
Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja to cover the filing of
the litigation.
Sahara Reporters had, in a report, alleged that Melaye did
not graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State, adding that
he was parading a fake certificate.
But Melaye had, on Tuesday, said he was ready for the probe
by the Senate.
He said, “I am here to respond to the issue raised by
Senator Ali Ndume. I want to say, to me, it is a welcome development. Democracy
is about investigation and no senator is above investigation. To me, it is a welcome
development and it will finally clear the air on all the malicious and
vindictive allegations.
“To say that I did not graduate from ABU is to say that I am
not a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. ABU is a very prestigious
university in this country and it is not possible for one to be running a
master’s programme in the university when one did not graduate from a
university. I have successfully completed one and I am doing the second one.”
0 Comments