I never called Melaye a clown — Saraki

Senate President Bukola Saraki has said that there was no time he told Sen. Abdullahi Adamu that Dino Melaye was a clown, saying the former governor of Nasarawa State lied against him.

Sen. Adamu had in an interview with Daily Trust on Sunday said the Senate President once told him that Sen. Dino Melaye was a clown that should not be taken seriously.

But Saraki described Sen, Adamu who represents Nasarawa West, as “a compulsive liar and an unreliable man who will do or say anything to suit his situation at any point in time.”

The Senate president said Sen. Adamu had been peddling insults and lies against him but he ignored him out of respect for his age.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said he had deliberately ignored Sen. Adamu, “especially his constant media attacks on me and the Senate since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dusted his file on alleged case of corruption and also went ahead to arraign his son in court.”

According to Saraki, “So far, I had refrained from responding in kind out of respect for his age. However, it seems he has misread my maturity and respect for docility. He feels the best way to play his self-survival game and ingratiate himself to the government in order to save his skin is for him to be seen to be fighting Saraki, even if that would require him to tell brazen lies and peddle mischief in his old age.

“I could not have referred to my colleague, Senator Dino Melaye as a clown, knowing that from available records, Senator Melaye has so far outshined and has performed better than Senator Abdullahi in terms of the number of bills sponsored, motion raised and contributions to debate on the floor,” he said.