DINO MELAYE: Protest Deepens, Women Back Tinubu, Demands Apologies

Senator Oluremi Tinubu

PROTESTS over threats of assault on Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the national leader of All Progressive Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in penultimate Tuesday have continued to gather momentum as women from divers groups demand unreserved apologies from Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West senatorial district in the senate.

The aggrieved women yesterday turned out in large numbers in Abuja, Ondo and Lagos states in protest demanding that the senator should be disciplined...

In Abuja, the Coalition for Women Advancement in Africa (CoWAA) in a statement demanded the senator to tender an unreserved apology to Senator Tinubu and women at large adding that Melaye and his like posed great threats to women advancement in Africa.

At the Akure protest, women, under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Women for Women (WFW) marched on the streets of the state capital, chanting solidarity songs in support of Senator Tinubu and gave the lawmaker seven days to apologise to women for insulting Senator Tinubu, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women Affairs.

Addressing reporters after the rally, the Ondo State Coordinator of WFW, Mrs. Fola Olaseinde-Vincente described the attack on Mrs. Tinubu as affront to the entire womenfolk and not the senator alone.

“Never are we going to accept this kind of assault on women to go with impunity. We are calling on women across the world to rise up against assault on fellow women because an attack on any woman is an attack on all women”, she said.

In Lagos, scores of women under the aegis of the Concerned Group yesterday stormed the Office of Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode to protest the rascality of the Kogi-born senator.

The leader of the group, Mrs. Anike Adekanye, delivered a protest letter to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the Lagos House in Alausa for transmission to President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to her, Melaye exhibited convincingly that he lacked the “poise, panache, fitness and minimum character to occupy a seat among sane, revered and distinguished men and women in the Senate”.

The group also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct relevant security agencies to institute criminal action against Melaye should he fail to apologise within an acceptable time-frame, to serve as a deterrent to others as well as send a signal to young people, who might have erroneously viewed Melaye’s “disgraceful action” as an ideal conduct in a sane and civilised society.

Receiving the protesters on behalf of Ambode, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Lola Akande assured the women the letter would be delivered to the President and that necessary actions would be taken to address the situation.

Senator Melaye had during a plenary threatened to beat up Senator Tinubu and pregnant her and boasted that nothing would happen. This sparked up protests by the women stating that the reckless statements leaves much to be desired of a senator in the National Assembly, and amounted to disrespect to womenfolk in general.