Melaye: Two former governors, PDP members vow to decamp to APC

The emergence of Senator Dino Melaye as the People’s Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Kogi State is generating crisis in the opposition party.

No fewer than 1,000 members of the party including two former governors, an ex-deputy governor as well as other senior stalwarts have threatened to decamp to the All Progressives Congress in protest.

Recall that the former lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly was adjudged to have polled a total of 313 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Idoko Ilonah, with 124 in an indirect primary.

However, before the exercise, some aspirants raised an alarm that the delegates list had been manipulated in favour of Melaye.

Former Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi, said: “We are calling this meeting to address the great anomalies that have come to the fore regarding the PDP primary election slated for Sunday.

“With me here are photocopies of the authentic delegates list, which had been duly certified by INEC as the result of what transpired on March 29 at the PDP congress in Kogi.

“We have copies of the delegates list for the twenty-one local government areas and the entire two hundred thirty-nine wards across the state supported by the state’s PDP executives.

“It’s trite to say that while the party sets up guidelines for due process and the process is adhered to, it’s unreasonable to have the same party jeopardising the same process by importing strange names into the delegates list.

“There will be serious and grave consequences for the PDP if the approved delegates list isn’t used.”

Another frontline aspirant, Dr Bolufemi Rotimi, added: “Failure not to use the authentic list will result in cancellation of the whole process.

“If they forge any list on Sunday for the primary election, there’s going to be a serious crisis.”

A PDP senatorial candidate for Kogi West, Tajudeen Yusuf, branded the delegates list as a terrible development and an attempt to commit fraud.

It now appears that further chaos beckons in the PDP which has been embroiled in a national crisis of some sort that led to its defeat at the presidential poll.

There are indications that the six disgruntled aspirants will work against Melaye in the November 11th guber poll.

The group has reportedly finalised plans to join the ruling party.