A traditional ruler, the Atapa of Itapa Ijesa, Dr. Olapade Agoro, has threatened court action against Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), for what he said was the senator’s battering of the image of the country before the rest of the world.
Agoro, a former presidential aspirant and religious leader, who was reacting to Melaye’s alleged verbal assault of Senator Oluremi Tinubu (APC, Lagos Central) on the floor of the Senate over two weeks ago, described his action as a dent on the citizenry and the All Progressives Congress, on which platform he stood for election.
The traditional ruler spoke yesterday at his Oluyole home in Ibadan, Oyo State where he showed certified true copy of the Court of Appeal judgment in favour of his party, National Action Council and seven other political parties, deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2014.
Agoro, who won in the Appeal Court case against INEC, restoring his political party and the six others, called for sanctions against Melaye.
This, he noted, would serve as deterrent to any lawmaker in the future.
He added that the measure would portray Nigerians not as dirty people, but descent and respected.
He said: “No wonder, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, without mincing words, told the whole world that the National Assembly is full of corrupt legislators. That was a weighty statement. When you say corruption, you are not limiting it to taking bribe. It could be immoral. By what he did on the floor of the Senate, I will say Melaye has committed immorality.
“For this young man to have lost morality and commonsense on the floor of the hallowed chamber, to have threatened to beat up a woman, that was too much. You don’t say you want to beat up another man’s wife on the hallowed chamber; forget who the husband is.
“That issue is beyond political scene. It raises the question of morality. When a man says he will beat up another man’s wife and even impregnate her, it means the man has admitted to be a rapist.
“By now, the police should have stepped in. It’s a reckless and senseless vituperation that should be taken beyond the floor of the Senate.
“The young man has been so reckless ever since he became a senator. It shows how corrupt he is. I don’t know why that type of character should be allowed to continue staying in the Senate.
“The APC should have by now sanctioned him to protect the name of the party, not demanding an apology from him. I could have taken him court, if not for anything, because we don’t expect characters like him in the Senate. He should be made to face the music”.
