Political activities take the centre stage in Nigeria in 2018 as the country prepares for the 2019 general elections. As the year runs to an end, Legit.ng highlights five major politicians that stirred controversies in 2018.
1. Dino Melaye; for all the endless drama involving him and the police
Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West senatorial district, gained unparalleled and national attention when he was in the House of Representatives. He has continued to build on the attention since he was elected to the Senate in 2015.
As a senator, some believe he stands as a watchdog for the ruling APC because of his usual anti-APC stance (even before he defected) while many associates his name with brigandage, rascality and unimaginable notoriety.
The Kogi state senator is at loggerheads with the Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, he has had embarrassing encounters with the Nigerian police and has numerous cases in court.
Implicated in a case of unlawful possession of prohibited firearms earlier in the year, the Nigerian police declared Melaye wanted following his failure to comply with criminal summon issued on him by the Federal High Court, Lokoja.
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Senator Melaye at a point was seen in a viral video throwing tantrum on the side of a road after allegedly jumping out of a moving police vehicle. The senator, who was arrested by the police, could be heard saying he'd rather kill himself than follow them to the court in Lokoja, Kogi state.
Melaye also on July 25 alleged that he was kidnapped but many Nigerians did not buy the story. Many believed he faked the kidnap to avoid going to court. A Nigerian Twitter user describes Melaye as "the best actor 2018" and "the best prisoner 2019".
2. Ayodele Fayose; for the dramas he put in the buildup to the Ekiti state 2018 election
The former governor of Ekiti state is notorious for his uncommon gubernatorial misdemeanours but his level of notoriety came to fore in the buildup to the 2018 governorship election where his deputy, Olusola Eleka contested against Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In one video, Fayose was seen boasting that he had Ekiti state in his control, he is Peter the Rock, and no amount of federal might can stop Eleka from winning the election. In another, Fayose was seen lamenting that he was “in severe pain”, claiming that he was slapped by a police officer. He later showed up with a neck brace and bandaged arm. Many Nigerians did not buy Fayose’s story.
A Nigerian doctor, Etin-osa Imagbenikaro laughed off the arm sling and neck collar worn by Fayose.
She insinuated that Fayose's claims of being attacked by the security operatives might be false.
According to her, the arm sling and the neck collar worn by Fayose wasn't professionally fixed giving indications that the incident might have been choreographed.
"I actually do not understand this contraption. I've tried to hold it in. But I've been laughing hard. If anyone tells me they fixed this for him in a hospital, I'd be shocked beyond belief.
"How do you connect an arm sling to a neck collar that's bracing a "broken neck"?" she posted on Twitter.
Fayose’s latest drama was when he showed up at the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.
He had earlier notified the EFCC that he will make himself available immediately his tenure expires.
Wearing a black t-shirt with the inscription “EFCC, I’m here”, the ex-governor said: “I am here in line with my promise that I will be here on the 16th of October, and like I said to EFCC, they should await my arrival.
“This morning, they have been to my house which I think its unnecessary.”
3. Adeleke Ademola; for his series of dancing escapades and the WAEC certificate saga
Senator Ademola Adeleke’s political career came into limelight when he won the Osun west senatorial bye-election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after the death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke, his brother.
The senator, however, gained more popularity because of uncommon dancing escapades; every occasion is an avenue to show up his dancing skills, so much that Nigerians tagged him ‘dancing senator’.
Senator Adeleke got entangled in a controversial case of certificate scandal in the build-up to the 2018 gubernatorial election where he contested on the platform of the PDP. He was accused of not writing WAEC exam but the West African Examination Council (WAEC) later confirmed that the embattled Senator actually wrote his WAEC exams in 1981.
Shortly after the WAEC saga, the police came out again to accuse Adeleke of “examination malpractice, criminal conspiracy, personation, breach of duty, and aiding and abetting crime.”
The police said Adeleke sat for the National Examination Council Examination (NECO) in 2017 as internal candidates impersonating students of the school. The case is still in court.
4. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; for allegedly stealing the Senate mace
Senator Omo-Agege, representing Delta Central, was reportedly suspended over his opposition to the election reordering bill. However, Senate president, Dr Bukola Saraki, said Omo-Agege was sanctioned for taking the Senate to court.
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Nonetheless, Omo-Agege disregarded the Senate’s suspension and appeared at the plenary on a day when some thugs invaded the National Assembly and carted away the Senate mace. Though he claimed the did not know anything about the mace theft, many of his colleagues believed he was responsible for the theft of the mace.
5. Adebayo Shittu; for his controversial claim about NYSC
The minister of communications, Adebayo, stirred controversy when he admitted he did not participate in the compulsory National Youth Service Scheme but claimed that he deliberately skipped the NYSC scheme because he was convinced that his membership of the state assembly was itself a “service.”
He said he believed that having been elected lawmaker, he needed not to participate in the national service.
NYSC, however, dismissed the claim that holding political office compensated for his refusal to participate in the compulsory national service.
The spokesperson of the NYSC, Adenike Adeyemi, said the minister’s claim that holding an elective office suffices for the obligatory national service is incorrect.
His party, the APC, subsequently disqualified him from participating in the Oyo state gubernatorial primaries on the basis of the NYSC issue. Adebayo subsequently dragged his party to court over the disqualification.
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