News

PDP’s Dino Melaye opens up on seeking refund of 250k shared per polling unit after losing Kogi governorship election

Published

6 months ago

November 17, 2023

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded Kogi governorship poll, Dino Melaye, has denied a report that he is seeking refund of money he provided for vote buying.

A report emerged on Thursday, that Dino Melaye is currently infuriated and has asked some party members in the state for a refund after he shared out N250,000 per polling unit in last Saturday’s election.

The breakdown of the PDP election expenses in the state showed that N87million was budgeted for “voter’s mobilisation” – a subtle name for vote-buying while N10,000 and N5000 were also voted for each Polling Officer and Assistant Polling Officer respectively in the election.

It was said that Melaye’s anger was partly because he claimed he was defrauded by a PDP Local Government Chairman, his campaign Director-General among others who failed to “deliver” the election for him.

“Senator Dino Melaye released N250,000 per polling unit for vote buying and he was defrauded by the Local Government chairman of PDP, his campaign DG and others.

“The money was shared for 14 people who gathered in Iyale at Hon Tom Zekeri house,” one of the authoritative sources said.

“He released N3,510,000 for thugs per polling unit in the name of local security; the money was diverted by a local government Chairman of the party called Alhaji Hussini Ejini. The senator is angry and asking for refund.”

However, Tinubu, reacting in a statement he signed on behalf of the Media Directorate of his campaign organization, which was posted on his Facebook wall, Melaye described the report as spurious.

Melaye accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of being behind the report.

Refuting the report, Melaye said,

“The SDM Media Directorate wishes to state that such misguiding headlines and story is nothing but unfounded and an attempt to distract the general public from the electoral heist that was committed in the Kogi November 11 elections.

“For clarity sake, Sen. Dino Melaye, as a democratic evangelist, a champion of anti-corruption in Nigeria and a man living with the fear of God, will never stoop to the criminal and destructive level of the APC to engage in vote-buying.

“Nigerians are not unaware of what transpired in the Kogi state November 11 election where rigging was taken to a whole new legendary and scientific level.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Usman Ododo, winner of the election after announcing that he polled a total of 446,237 votes, saying that it applied the “margin of lead principle” in announcing the winner.

According to INEC, Ododo’s closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), polled a total of 259,052 votes while Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored a total of 46,362 votes – making him a distant third.

Melaye had called for the “immediate cancellation” of the gubernatorial election in the five local governments of Kogi Central.

The PDP candidate had identified the concerned local governments of Kogi Central as Okene, Okehi, Ajaoukuta, Adavi, and Ogori/Mangogo.

“INEC must cancel the election in the five local governments of Kogi Central. The election in Okene, Okehi, Ajaoukuta, Adavi, and Ogori/Mangogo is a scam coordinated from the highest level of INEC,” he had written.