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Dino Melaye Threatens Legal Action Against Tinubu Over Alleged 2027 Campaign Fundraising Appointment
Dino Melaye Threatens Legal Action Against Tinubu Over Alleged 2027 Campaign Fundraising Appointment
Former federal lawmaker and prominent opposition figure, Senator Dino Melaye, has vowed to challenge President Bola Tinubu in court over the alleged appointment of Dr Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS, as Deputy Director of Fundraising for the President’s 2027 re-election campaign.
The controversy erupted following the unveiling of members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential campaign council on Saturday, with a number of appointments on the list immediately attracting public attention and generating heated reactions.
Of particular concern to critics was the inclusion of Adedeji, who heads the federal agency responsible for revenue collection, in a fundraising role for the President’s political campaign.
The development quickly sparked widespread debate, especially across social media, where Nigerians raised concerns over the potential conflict between Adedeji’s public responsibilities and his alleged political assignment.
Some critics expressed fears that placing the head of the nation’s revenue collection agency in a key fundraising position for an incumbent President’s re-election campaign could create suspicion about the separation of public resources from political activities.
Melaye, however, has taken his opposition to the development a step further, announcing plans to seek a judicial interpretation of the appointment.
In a video clip shared on his Facebook page, the former senator argued that the matter raises serious constitutional, ethical and public service questions that must be tested in court.
According to Melaye, the alleged decision for the NRS chairman to serve as Deputy Director of Fundraising represents what he considers a clear conflict of interest.
“The most disturbing part of the list released by the APC is seeing the chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS), the body that collects our revenue, serving as Director in charge of fundraising for Tinubu’s presidential campaign.
“Is there no conflict in this? As a lawyer, by the grace of God, on Monday, I’m heading to court. We have to test that. If that is not a conflict of interest, then I don’t know what would be.
“That a civil servant, a man who earns a salary and is supposed to adhere to public service rules, is not just supporting a presidential candidate but serving as Deputy Director in charge of fundraisin,” Melaye stated.
Melaye’s planned legal action is expected to further intensify the political controversy surrounding the composition of the APC’s campaign structure ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The central question likely to dominate the unfolding debate is whether a serving public official occupying such a sensitive position in the nation’s revenue administration can simultaneously take up a prominent fundraising role in the political campaign of the sitting President.
As Melaye prepares to head to court, the controversy is set to move beyond social media outrage and political arguments into what could become a significant legal battle over public service, political participation, conflict of interest and the boundaries between government institutions and electioneering activities.
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