Senator Dino Melaye, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Kogi State governorship election, has been defeated in his local government by his All Progressives Congress (APC) opponent, Usman Ododo.
Ododo, the approved candidate of the state’s departing governor, Yahaya Bello, will face Melaye and 16 other candidates in the election on November 11, 2023.
According to Pulse, results collation began in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, on Sunday morning, and parties have begun tabulating their final count.
However, in Melaye’s local government of Ijumu, the APC candidate received the plurality of votes. Ododo was declared the winner after receiving 10,524 votes.
With 6,909 votes, the PDP candidate trailed Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Party Received 1,898 votes to come third.
Murtala Ajaka, a Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, finished fourth in Ijumu local government with 356 votes.
Melaye called for the suspension of elections in several Kogi State local governments on Saturday, claiming anomalies and compromise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Senator raised the alarm in a video message on his Twitter page on Saturday, accusing the APC of attempting to rig the election in Ogori/Magongo LGA.
“Result sheets have been written,” Melaye remarked in the video. A large demonstration is now taking place in Kogi State’s Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area.
“The result sheets have already been filled out and tampered with, and individuals are refusing to accredit, people are refusing to vote, and they insist on showing agents simple result sheets in compliance with election regulations.”
