‘No gang up against you’, Kogi delegates dismiss Melaye’s claim on primary

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that participated in the senatorial primary election in Kogi State have dismissed the claim by a former lawmaker, Dino Melaye.

Melaye had said that he lost the primary election because of an 'unimaginable gang-up' against him.

In a rerun election held on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Kaba, Tajudeen Yusuf, the lawmaker representing Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu constituency in the House of Representatives secured 163 votes to clinch the Kogi West senatorial ticket, while Melaye had 99 votes.

Following his defeat to the lawmaker, Melaye in a tweet attributed his loss to a gang-up against him.

“The gang-up is unimaginable but l give God praise. God bless you all. SDM,” his tweet read in part.

However, two delegates who participated in the election, Noah Adebayo and Timileyin Iselewa said there was nothing like that against Melaye.

The delegates in an interview with this writer said the primary election was devoid of any form of violence, adding that the election was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.

According to Adebayo, there was no political undertone in the primary election. He explained that the first primary wouldn’t have ended in a tie between Melaye and Yusuf if there was a gang up against the former lawmaker.

He said, “There was no gang-up against him, the primary was free and fair and was conducted in a peaceful atmosphere. If there was a gang up against him, the first primary wouldn’t have ended in a draw, which was 88–88. But later in the day, we went for a rerun, and a House of Representative member, Hon Tajudeen Yusuf defeated Dino Melaye at the poll. So, it was free and fair and there was no gang up”.

Explaining why Melaye lost the election despite his popularity, Adebayo said politics is a game of luck and interest. The PDP member said political aspirants can't win elections all the time.

He added that the delegates were satisfied with the outcome of the senatorial primary election in the state.

“Politics is a game of interest and game of luck. I believe the luck is against him now. As an aspirant, you can not win all elections. The same Dino Melaye contested for House of Rep, and he won. He contest again for senate under the same senatorial district and he won. if he loses now, it should not be an issue, because you can not win all elections. He should not be saying there was a gang up against him.

“There was no political undertone in this primary because it was free and fair, no violence, and we the delegates are satisfied with the outcome of the primary” he said.

Buttressing Adebayo’s submission, Iselewa who was a member of the delegates said the election was free and fair, adding that there was no gang-up as claimed by Melaye.

“Nobody ganged up against you, Politics is a game of luck. The election was free and fair, you cast your vote and we did it one after the other. Nobody was against anybody, we held a free and fair election,” he said.

On Yusuf’s victory, Adebayo said the lawmaker is a good man whose gestures have to be reciprocated.

“Hon Tajudeen Yusuf is a good man. He’s been representing Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu constituency in the House of Representatives of Nigeria and we need to reciprocate his gesture, that’s what we just did here”, he said.

Meanwhile, Yusuf has thanked the leaders of Kogi West Senatorial District for their roles in his emergence as the candidate of the party.