The battle for the Kogi West senatorial seat in 2019 is expected to be tough and interesting. Senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress, APC, will square up against serving Senator Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Melaye, who recently left the APC for the PDP snatched the seat from Adeyemi, a development that has raised expectations over the coming election. Will Adeyemi avenge his loss and beat Melaye or will Melaye be second time lucky?
A chieftain of the APC in Kogi State, Kingsley Fanwo, said the emergence of Senator Adeyemi as the party’s Kogi West senatorial candidate was a “historic testimony of a united Okun people.”
Fanwo who is the Director General Media and Publicity to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, said Adeyemi is the “most politically grounded” among the contestants and that his election will “reshape the negative conversation about the Okun character.”
He said: “The February 2019 senatorial election holds a historic moment for the people of Kogi West. As a people, our pride and ideals have been hurt. We are not what the world think we are. For four years, we have to live with a calamitous representation foisted on us by the Buhari Tsunami of 2015. In 2019, we will right the wrongs and prove to the world that Okun people are no clowns.
“When Senator Adeyemi was Senator, the entire Kogi West was his home. He was at home in Lokoja / Koto as well as Yagba. He has empowered many Yagba people and people all over the Senatorial District. His entrance into the race has changed the political course of Kogi West and we are hopeful he will win convincingly.”
Fanwo said the Senate has missed the “intelligent, informed and articulate contributions of Senator Adeyemi”, assuring Nigerians that Kogi West people are prepared to return him to his familiar terrain.
Fanwo urged the electorate to concentrate on the message of redemption and avoid joining the “pig in a mud fight”, saying emphasis should be placed on issue-based campaign that is devoid of character assassination.
Credit: Vanguard
