Dino Melaye mocks Akpabio in new video

A controversial senator, Dino Melaye, on Friday entertained Akwa Ibom governor, Udom Emmanuel, with a song in which he praised the governor as having surpassed the performance of his predecessor, Godswill Akpabio.

Mr Melaye was among a handful of senators who accompanied the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on a solidarity visit to Mr Emmanuel in Uyo.

The solidarity visit to Uyo is generally seen as an effort to boost Governor Emmanuel’s morale after Mr Akpabio, who is a senator, defected from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The defection is a major threat to Governor Emmanuel’s ambition for re-election.

“Governor dey pass governor, hayaya! Udom pass Akpabio, hayaya!” Senator Melaye, from Kogi state, is seen in a video, singing into the microphone, prompting Governor Emmanuel and other dignitaries inside the Exco chambers of the Government House to burst into laughter.

The video, which is just 41-seconds long, is being circulated on Facebook.

The video shows politicians, including the state chairman of PDP, Paul Ekpo, the national legal adviser of the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, and the Commissioner for Works in the state, Ephraim Inyang, applauding Mr Melaye for his hilarious act.

Towards the end of the video, the governor is seen standing in the middle of the chambers, exchanging pleasantries with guests, before Mr Melaye stepped forward, walked close to him, and repeated the song, poking his finger at the governor.

A former senator from the state, Anietie Okon, who was standing close by, attempted to lift up Governor Emmanuel’s hand, in a seeming approval of what was going on.

The PDP national legal adviser, Mr Enoidem, is a former political ally of Mr Akpabio.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted him for his opinion on the video, he said Mr Melaye has the right to express himself.

“Everybody has the right to express his opinion, I am not to justify or criticise it. I cannot say that Dino was wrong or right.

“Everybody knows Dino to be a very jovial person. I am sure if you ask Godswill Akpabio, he will laugh over it,” Mr Enoidem said.

Mr Melaye, who recently defected from the APC to the PDP, is well-known for releasing short hilarious videos oftentimes to mock his political opponents.

The senator stirred controversy last month over claims that he stayed on a treetop for 11 hours to escape from people he said wanted to abduct him.