24th November, 2019
The All Progressives Congress has reacted to the threat by the Peoples Democratic Party to boycott the 30 November supplementary poll in Kogi West district, where Senator Dino Melaye faces a daunting challenge of erasing APC’s Smart Adeyemi’s 20,000 vote lead.
In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC said no amount of propaganda by PDP will change the fact that Melaye did not win the February 23 election, hence the appeal court judgement that ordered fresh poll.
“Senator Dino Melaye did not win the 2019 National Assembly election for the Kogi West Senatorial district, the Appeal Court affirmed just that. Again, the Kogi electorate resisted and frustrated Dino Melaye and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) plan to, again, rig the November 16 rerun election for the Senatorial seat.No level of propaganda and fake news can change these hard facts”, the APC said.
The party said since INEC fixed November 30 for the Senatorial supplementary election in Kogi West district, the PDP has predictably gone to town with the usual lamentations on the forthcoming supplementary election.
“Nobody is fooled by the PDP’s statement boycotting the supplementary election. The All Progressives Congress (APC) will not drop its guard in our quest to get a clear majority of the remaining votes in the affected units”, APC said..
“Why should the supplementary election be cancelled as being demanded by the PDP? Is it because the PDP has already lost the election?
“As the wide margin of valid votes from the November 16 exercise show, it is clear that Dino Melaye and the PDP have lost the election. PDP’s doomsday will surely not be postponed a second time. Come November 30, the APC candidate, Senator Smart Adeyemi will reclaim his earlier stolen mandate.
“How many times does the PDP need to be reminded that APC has not and will not copy the PDP’s inglorious tactics of using state institutions, particularly INEC, the judiciary and security agencies to manipulate the electioneering process?
“The business of the National Assembly is a serious one, equally meant for serious and patriotic-minded persons. The Kogi electorate have decidedly rejected individuals who sacrificed national interest to achieve their selfish political agenda.
“Nigerians will recall the lead roles Senator Dino Melaye played in frustrating the 2019 budget, legislative approval for INEC’s election budget, and executive interventions requiring Senate approvals. Commendably, those days are gone as the Nigerian electorate have thrown out the unpatriotic and sabotaging legislators. The National Assembly and the executive now enjoy a cordial relationship that ensures good governance and brings dividends to the people.
“We call on INEC and relevant security agencies to ensure that everything needed to make the November 30 senatorial supplementary election in Kogi transparent, free, credible and safe is put in place”.