Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, has disclosed plans to institute legal action against President Bola Tinubu over the appointment of the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, as Deputy Director of Fundraising for the President’s 2027 campaign.
Melaye argued that Adedeji, as head of the agency responsible for revenue collection, should not simultaneously occupy a fundraising position in a political campaign.
The former lawmaker made this known in a video shared on his Facebook page, where he criticised the inclusion of the NRS chairman in the campaign structure unveiled by the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Saturday.
According to him, the development is particularly troubling because Adedeji is a public official who is expected to operate within the rules governing public service.
“The most disturbing part of the list released by the APC is seeing the chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service, 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,” Melaye said.
He added that Adedeji’s participation in the campaign fundraising structure went beyond merely supporting a political candidate, describing his appointment to a leadership position in the campaign as a matter that should be subjected to judicial scrutiny.
“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 fundraising,” he added.
The controversy followed the unveiling of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election, with former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, named Director-General.
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, was appointed Secretary, while APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, and Hadiza Bala-Usman were named Deputy Secretary and Assistant Secretary respectively.
The composition of the council has also drawn criticism from the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), which accused the administration of providing political rehabilitation for individuals facing unresolved corruption allegations.
ADC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, specifically questioned the inclusion of former Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Betta Edu, and former Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund chairman, Ngozi Olejeme.
The party argued that the government should explain the status of previous investigations and cases involving the two former officials if they had been cleared.
“If they have been cleared, the government should show how and when and by whom they were cleared,” Abdullahi said.
The ADC further alleged that some financial crime investigations under the Tinubu administration had faded from public attention before individuals involved later returned to political prominence.
“Under this government, corruption allegations increasingly appear to have an expiry date. Once a person becomes politically useful enough, yesterday’s questions apparently no longer require today’s answers,” the party said.
It argued that the 2027 presidential election would serve as a referendum on Tinubu’s performance in office, insisting that political mobilisation would not erase the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians.
