Kogi West Rerun: Melaye Rejects Results, Decries Violence and Rigging

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Kogi West Senatorial District rerun, Dino Melaye has rejected the results of Saturday’s election.

Melaye who addressed newsmen on Sunday said the results were being doctored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the support of the state’s governor, Yahaya Bello.

“They did this by attacking my strongholds and then rig their strongholds. That is exactly what happened. They also went to Abuji where I am very strong politically, election did not take place there. There were sporadic firing of gunshots.

“They went to Lokoja and carted away ballot boxes in over 10 polling units.‎ They went to another place and carted ballot boxes from over 12 units. But I am surprised that, INEC despite this violence, three people were shot and two died, four people were killed in Lokoja, seven were killed in the eastern part of the state. This is the record we have so far, apart from those who sustained gunshot wounds and those who were macheted and all that” he lamented.

“Meanwhile, in the ward of the Speaker Kogi State House of Assembly, Prince Kolawale, ‎where he led thugs to cart away Ballot Boxes. These Ballot Boxes were stuffed and brought back to the Collation Center and they were collated and admitted” he said.

Speaking further Melaye said, “The Electoral Act is clear, the Election Manual is very clear, that when the number of cancelled votes outweights the number of votes between the winner and the loser, definitely, the election must be declared inconclusive.

“We are waiting to see what INEC will do. ‎But I reject in totality these fictitious results. I Dino Melaye won that election in the afternoon and then APC won it at night. I won that election clealy and we have Polling Units results. We have collected all the Polling Units results and I won with a very very wide margin.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Sunday declared the rerun election inconclusive following cancellation of votes in several polling units and wards. Melaye trails his main rival, Smart Adeyemi of the APC with about 20,000 votes.