A SaharaReporters investigation into the latest ‘luxury’ car
purchased by embattled Senator Dino Melaye has found that he is masquerading a
cheap MG-TD replica car as an expensive Rolls Royce car purportedly worth N180
million.
SaharaReporters confirmed that Mr. Melaye is pandering his cheap
replica as a Rolls Royce after consulting several experts with deep knowledge
of both Rolls Royce and MG-TD cars.
SaharaReporters learned that an associate of Mr. Melaye has been
circulating a press release claiming that he “bought a classic Rolls Royce
estimated at $400,000 (N180 million).” The same statement continued saying,
“that the Rolls Royce is a rare collectible item that is not only scarce but
very expensive.”
The press statement, now known to be totally misleading,
erroneously claimed that “the Rolls Royce which is a 1923 model is 93 years
old, and is used by only a few persons in a special grade.”
SaharaReporters contacted three antique car experts located in
the United States to confirm details surrounding Mr. Melaye’s alleged luxury
car. All three experts categorically stated that the car in the photos
circulated by Mr. Melaye’s associate is not a Rolls Royce. All three experts
also said that the car in the photographs is a British-made MG-TD, two of whom
said it was a replica with parts from a Volkswagen Beetle.
One expert speaking to SaharaReporters, George Medynski, the
owner of Tuxedo Moto Sport, formally M&G Vintage Auto, who has been
specializing in maintenance and restoration of British vehicles for decades,
viewed photos of Mr. Melaye’s vehicle and described it in precise detail.
He told SaharaReporters that Mr. Melaye’s car “was one of the worst
replica MGs” he had seen. He observed that “you couldn’t get any cheaper,
crappier and it is probably worth nowhere near $10,000 and probably cost
between $4,000-$6,000.”
Mr. Medynski then added, “I am offered these lepers all the
time.”
“It’s not a Rolls Royce and it’s not even a real MG-TD,” he
stated emphatically. He also said that it was most certainly a replica of a
1953 MG-TD, totally different than the 1924 Rolls Royce make Mr. Melaye’s
associate was stating.
Providing specific details of the car, he said, “look at the
front-end picture. On the inside of both wheels you can see that’s a Volkswagen
suspension from the old Beetles.”
He also said, during his evaluation of the images, “it’s
absolutely worthless. The body is made of fiberglass, the gauges don’t look
right, the gas tank, everything” is wrong compared to the original MG-TD.
These kinds of cars, just like the one Mr. Melaye is
masquerading as a Rolls Royce, “were popular in the early 1970s [in the US]
when you can take a Volkswagen Beetle and make it whatever you wanted,” whether
it was a dune buggy or some other inexpensive car.
Mr. Medynski, who has been working on MG-TDs and other British
cars for decades, described the British MG-TD as “having a coach built body
[made from wood with metal folded around it]. It was probably the last kind of
car to come out of England coach built.”
“They stopped making [MG] coach built cars in 1955 and MG went
out of business in 1980,” he continued. “They made 30,000 MG-TDs and out of
that 30,000 in the world a real nice one is probably worth $45,000-$60,000, the
replica is worthless.”
It has also been noted that the hood ornament on Mr. Melaye’s
fake car looks nothing like the ‘flying lady’ ornament indicative of Rolls
Royce cars, including the 1924 make he is pandering.
SaharaReporters also consulted Hemmings, the leading online car
collector marketplace where luxury and antique vehicles are regularly posted
for sale, to assess prices for the MG-TD vehicles.
The most expensive
MG-TD car available on Hemmings website was priced at $39,500. The average
price for this year and make of car was under $10,000, according to a
SaharaReporters query of the site.
A source speaking to SaharaReporters on the condition of
anonymity, who has intimate knowledge of Mr. Melaye’s assets, disclosed that
the car circulated by Mr. Melaye’s associate is new to his fleet and has not
been in his possession since 2014, as alleged in the statement.
This same source said they believed Mr. Melaye wants to mislead
the Nigerian public, and especially his NASS colleagues, because he is an
insecure man wanting to appear to be a more powerful than he is.
“Apart from the attention he wants from the public he also wants
to attract women,” because of some of his insecurities, this source elaborated
on why he would pretend his car is more opulent than it really is.
It will be recalled that Mr. Melaye has had longstanding
problems with women, including his ex-wives, some of whom he physically abused,
and threatened to impregnate Senator Remi Tinubu during a Senate meeting
earlier this year.
SaharaReporters reached out to Mr. Melaye for comment on his
supposed luxurious purchase but he did not respond to our correspondent's
queries.
Saharareporters
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