ABU authorities to supply Melaye’s academic details to FG

The Federal Government has officially demanded the authority of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) to supply the academic details of lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye, following the controversy over his completion of his degree programme in Geography at the University.

A top official of ABU, Zaria, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian that “the University is already compiling the records of Senator Dino Melaye for the Government that demanded the immediate release to Government and the University will respond soon.”

According to the official, “nobody is in doubt if Senator Melaye attended the University, but what people are saying is whether he completed his course of study and the university will make the relevant information available,” adding that, “to the best of my knowledge, the Senator was on this campus and read a course of study for which I think he graduated between 1997 and 1998 as the case may be.

“These details can always be found in the list of graduating students of Geography in either of those years as the case may be, but for me, I think he ran a programme and I should think he successfully ended up in either of those years I mentioned.”

Besides, a Student Union Government (SUG) official activist and departmental mate of Senator Melaye, who also pleaded anonymity, said, “the Senator and I were in Geography Department and two of us were also officials of the National Union of Geography Students at ABU.”

He remarked, “while Dino was the National President of Geography Department, I was the Assistant Secretary General, I presided over his impeachment during the controversy leading to his ousting from that office.

“Let me tell you, Dino was a radical student activist in campus. I will give that to him and at a point he was confrontational to the establishment in the University. And at last, the institution did everything possible to bring him close and later became the eyes of the authority on campus.”

According to him, “I can attest that Senator Dino actually completed a course of study in Geography in 1998; whether he had carry-over in some courses that were later waved is what I cannot say.”

“I think Dino later graduated from ABU, Zaria with a Third class or Pass. I am sure of that. Let anybody not deceive you that he did not study or graduate in ABU. Go and find out, he did. He is stubborn, that I will give to him. And I think that is what is still trailing him in the Senate,” he said.