Reason Why I Came Distant Third In Kogi Governorship Election – Dino Melaye
Senator Dino Melaye, the gubernatorial candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, has claimed that certain undisclosed political adversaries convened to ensure his placement as a “distant third” in the fiercely contested election held on Saturday.
Melaye made these allegations during a live appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Monday. He presented his case, pointing out instances of over-voting in 17 out of the 21 local government areas (LGAs) in the North Central state.
“A meeting was held and they said, ‘Dino Melaye must not come second because if he comes second, it’s dangerous… so, he must become a distant third.’ There was no election; there was only allocation of votes,” he alleged.
Usman Ododo, representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), secured victory with 446,237 votes, as officially announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Murtala Ajaka from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) claimed the second position with 259,052 votes, while Dino Melaye garnered 46,362 votes.
“Normally, Ajaka should not be excited that he won one, two, or three local governments in the East. It was allocated,” Melaye said.
The ex-legislator asserted that a similar occurrence took place during the presidential election on February 25th.
“Lagos was given to Labour,” he said. “Labour should not think they won [in] Lagos; it was deliberate. The mathematics was done. The arithmetic was done.”
The PDP candidate in Kogi contended that the presidential candidate for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2023, Rabiu Kwankwaso, was allocated Kano deliberately, recognizing that other states had experienced manipulation.
Melaye expressed the belief that this mirrored the identical approach employed in Kogi State.
