Veteran politician and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), Senator Dino Melaye, has criticised Zacch Adedeji’s appointment as Deputy Director of Fundraising for the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2027 Presidential Campaign Council while serving as chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), describing the arrangement as a sign of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s desperation ahead of the 2027 election.
The development follows Tinubu’s August 22 appointment of Zacch Adedeji as Deputy Director of Fundraising in his Presidential Campaign Council in 2027.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Senator Melaye said he would challenge Adedeji’s dual role in court, arguing that serving as NRS chairman while overseeing fundraising for Tinubu’s 2027 campaign creates a serious conflict of interest.
“What has happened actually shows the desperation of the APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“By the extant laws establishing NRS and the public service rules to which he is accountable, he cannot be the chairman of NRS and at the same time be a fundraiser for the presidential campaign office of a sitting president. There is a serious conflict of interest, and we want to test it in a court of law. We want to expose the desperation of the APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he stressed.
Melaye further condemned the arrangement as “ridiculous and unacceptable,” alleging that Adedeji’s appointment as NRS chairman was intended to enable him raise funds for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign. He described the move as evidence of a “bravado” and an “I don’t care” attitude by the President and APC.
“A man who is raising revenue for this country cannot be appointed as the deputy director of the fundraising committee for the election of the president. It shows a bravado and an ‘I don’t care’ attitude from the president and the APC. It is ridiculous and unacceptable. Nigeria is not a banana republic. This gives us an indication that that is why he was appointed chairman ab initio—the intention was to use him as chairman of NRS so he could provide funds for the election,” he alleged.
He also disclosed that he was proceeding with the planned legal action despite reports that the President had suspended the campaign council list, insisting that the matter would still be tested in court.
“Because of our outcry and because we are heading to court, in a quick turnover, I heard the president has suspended the list, pretending to Nigerians that some names were missing. We know it is because of our outcry. By the time the new list comes out, they may have amended some names and removed Zach Adedeji and others, but we are still heading to court to test the laws,” he said.
Adding, Melaye said the opposition would closely monitor the 2027 election for any “negativity or foul play,” declaring that the contest would be different from previous elections and warning that “enough is enough.”
“Not only this, we are eagerly watching for any negativity or foul play. This election is going to be different from every other election held in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Enough is enough. We have become watchdogs, and this time around, we are going to follow the president and the APC bumper to bumper,” he stressed.
Rejecting the argument that campaign fundraising is strictly a party affair, Melaye said Adedeji’s dual role raises both a conflict of interest and a moral concern, questioning how a public official tasked with raising revenue for Nigeria could simultaneously raise funds for the president’s re-election campaign.
He also alleged that the campaign council’s structure was designed to raise funds sector by sector, with ministers overseeing committees linked to their respective sectors.
“They may come up with that argument because they are desperate lawbreakers who don’t believe in the rule of law. But above the conflict of interest, there is a moral question involved. How can you be raising revenue for the Federal Republic of Nigeria and at the same time raising money for the president’s campaign?
“If you see the list that was structured, it is actually fund capture, sectorially designed. The Minister of Solid Minerals heads a committee on solid minerals, the Minister of Petroleum heads a committee on petroleum, and there is a committee on agriculture. I have never seen a committee designed in this manner to loot the economy and siphon money from all agencies associated with MDAs. Each minister has a jurisdiction where they are going to raise money from. Contractors will be called sector by sector and asked to bring money. It has never been this terrible in the history of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We have never seen this type of operation in the history of this country,” he remarked.
On Tinubu’s decision to chair his own campaign council, Senator Melaye described the arrangement as unprecedented and questioned the propriety of a presidential candidate simultaneously overseeing the council campaigning for his re-election. He asserted that the move suggests Tinubu does not trust his governors, ministers or campaign officials and wants to maintain direct control over the election effort.
“There is a general saying that you cannot be a judge in your own case. How can you be a candidate in an election and also be the chairman of the campaign council for that election?
“The only answer is that you are desperate, you don’t trust anybody, and you want to be reported to on a daily and hourly basis regarding this election. You don’t trust your governors, you don’t trust your ministers, and you don’t trust the campaign council. You want to be directly in charge to get information directly,” he asserted.
Responding to whether the arrangement could simply reflect Tinubu’s desire for direct control, Melaye likened it to a referee participating in the match he is officiating. He maintained that the move reflects fear and anxiety within the APC, as well as a lack of trust ahead of the 2027 election.
“Can you be a referee in a match that you are participating in? This has never happened anywhere in the world before. The only answer to it is that the president is afraid of the inevitable implosion coming into the APC. There is no trust; there is fear and anxiety, and that is what is propelling this very strange introduction into our political atmosphere,” he insisted.
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