Lokoja – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Kogi State on Sunday has come under fire for lacking credibility, according to Yomi Awoniyi, a former deputy governor of the state. Awoniyi, who came second in the primary with 77 votes, has accused the winner, former senator Dino Melaye, of benefiting from a “tainted delegates list.”
In a statement issued on Monday in Lokoja, Awoniyi described Melaye’s victory as a “pyrrhic one” that could endanger the unity of the party and its prospects in the November 11 governorship election. Awoniyi alleged that 158 delegates, who emerged from the state ad hoc congress on March 29, 2023, were replaced by the Senator Abdul Ningi Congress Committee, working in collusion with Melaye’s allies within the party hierarchy.
Awoniyi further argued that gifting Melaye 158 votes in a contest involving eight aspirants out of a total of 739 votes was unfair and amounted to fraud. He accused Melaye of winning a “fraudulent primary” and called on him to search his heart to see if he had behaved well as he claimed to be a “counsellor of the celestial.”
Melaye, on the other hand, credited God for his victory in the primary in a statement also issued on Monday. He referred to himself as “Daniel” and claimed that God had fought on his behalf and delivered victory to him on behalf of other aspirants, the PDP members in and outside Kogi State, and the people of the state. Melaye also took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress (APC) for committing “democratic sacrilege” in Kogi State and praised the PDP for demonstrating that Nigeria was not the “jungle” that the APC painted it to be in recent elections.
The controversy surrounding the PDP governorship primary in Kogi State is likely to continue, with Awoniyi vowing that the dust is unlikely to settle even beyond the November 11, 2023 governorship election. Meanwhile, Melaye’s victory has been met with mixed reactions, with his supporters celebrating his emergence as the party’s candidate while Awoniyi and his allies continue to raise questions about the credibility of the primary. The PDP in Kogi State will need to address these concerns and strive to maintain party unity as it prepares for the upcoming governorship election.
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