By Amuda Dan Sulaiman FAB
As 2019 general election draws nearer, about five groups in Lokoja local government area of Kogi State have denounced their support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate, Senator Dino Melaye and pledged allegiance to Senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The groups, under the auspices of the Aggrieved Dino Support Groups, made this known on Tuesday, when they paid a solidarity visit to Senator Adeyemi at his Maitama residence in Abuja to express loyalty.
Leader of the group, Momojimoh Zuberu, explained that their decision to quit Senator Dino Melaye’s Senatorial project is informed and inspired by the outcome of wide consultations and engagements embark upon over the past few weeks, as it were clearly observable that the Kogi West people are no longer interested in Melaye’s representation.
Explaining their reasons for dumping Melaye, Zuberu said: “Dino’s three and half year in the Senate was a monumental disaster, inglorious and huge embarrassment for the people of Kogi West.
The group explained further that its “decision to quit the Dino Melaye’s project was occasioned by his continual abuse of President Muhammadu Buhari whose tsunami made him win the 2015 senatorial election and the total neglect and disregards for the sanctity of support groups existence, acknowledgment and recognition of groups contributions coupled with nepotism.”
Zuberu said after the emergence of the Dino Melaye as Senatorial Candidate in Kabba, the victory party was relocated to Abuja, where emporium was hatched and cabals that never labored were the first to sit at Tea Party, while the support groups that labored through thick and thin were neglected, abandoned used and dumped, confirming the usual parlance of ‘monkey dey work baboon dey chop” which has been the usual style of PDP as a political party.
It added that it is a common knowledge that support groups who were neglected and treated with disdain have the right and privilege to migrate to places where they will be treated with royalty.
The group, therefore, states that: “Today, we the members of the Aggrieved Melaye Support Groups Coalition with over 5 political mobilization elements statewide has collectively denounced and withdrew our total support for Senator Dino Melaye as we transit and coalesce our political identity to Smart Adeyemi Reloaded Ambassadors of Kogi West.”
In her own remarks, Hajiya Larai Muhammed, Coordinator of the women wing, explained that it has become imperative for the women group to unanimously agree as stakeholders in Kogi West and Lokoja local government in particular to endorse Senator Smart Adeyemi, who she described as more reliable, a human developer and a grassroots politician.
“Our endorsement and support is not based on bias tendency but on facts and critical assessment, which we discovered that he is the most acceptable candidate with not just the best qualifications in many areas including educational background among others, but for the confidence the people have in his ability to provide the right leadership to the people of the Kogi West Senatorial District,” she said
Responding, Senator Adeyemi thanked them for the visit and assured them of his determinations to bring back the respect and glory of the senatorial district lost this few years due to bad representation.
He called on Kogi West electorate to vote for President Muhammad Buhari and all APC candidates at the forthcoming election.
