Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the Kogi State governorship election, Senator Dino Melaye, on Sunday, demanded the cancellation of the election due to the “irregularities that marred” the process.
Melaye said at a press conference on Sunday in Lokoja, the state capital, that the irregularities that marred the Saturday election in all three Senatorial Districts of the state were unprecedented in the history of the state, and should therefore not be allowed to stand.
The PDP governorship flagbearer said the exercise was ‘shameful and unhealthy’, expressing regret that the Independent National Electoral Commission “has not learnt any lesson to realise, ameliorate and palliate the problem they created for the democratic process during the general elections in the country, still repeating the same in the governorship election.
“Yesterday in the five Local Governments of Central Senatorial districts in Kogi State, there was no election. In the end, surprisingly, accreditation was done manually. The BVAS was not used. Prepared sheets manifested even before accreditation and evidence is all over the media.
“INEC as a matter of urgency must cancel the election. In many areas where I won, my agents were told there were no available result sheets to enter the results and we have evidence to back up these claims
“As I speak to you, it is shameful that this is what our democracy has descended to. INEC has manifested ever than before, that they can not be trusted, they are biased, they are compromised and they can not be neutral umpire.”
The former two-term Senator for Kogi West alleged that INEC officials and youth corps members were caught during Saturday’s election with prepared result sheets even before the commencement of the processes.
He alleged that a youth corps member was arrested with prepared results and N1million cash.
Melaye said, “They were deliberate suppression of my votes in Lokoja and Kogi Local Governments. This was deliberately done by Governor Yahaya Bello and APC to make sure that even their orchestrated arrangement didn’t come second.
“Because they do believe that there will be a second ballot and they believe if there is a second ballot, I have influence and tremendous support in the central and I can make an inroad in the East. So they preferred any other person to become second.”
