PDP Kogi Guber Crisis: Stakeholders Accuse Atiku, NWC of Manipulating Delegate List for Melaye
Chuks Okocha in Abuja
The coalition of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Kogi state has accused the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party and the Presidential candidate of the party in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar of manipulating the ward delegate list for the nomination of the governorship in favour of Senator Dino Melaye.
But in a swift reaction, Senator Dino Melaye discountenanced the allegations, describing them as imaginary and that Atiku has nothing to do with the Kogi state governorship delegate list.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the leader of the group, Faruk Adejo Audu, said that the election of the ward three man adhoc delegate was manipulate to give Melaye advantage.
He said that out of the 725 expected delegates for the primary election that the appeal committee headed by Hon Idris Umar, that Melaye was awarded 125 delegates, thus giving him an undue advantage.
Adejo Audu warned that unless the manipulated list is corrected that the stakeholders would help the PDP to lose the governorship election.
He likened what is happening to the ward delegate list as the same to how Peter Obi was chased out of the PDP and he turned out to become the PDP albatross in the just concluded presidential election
But reacting, Senator Melaye described the allegations as merely imaginary and far from the truth
According to Melaye, “The accusation that Atiku is trying to manipulate the results in my favour is also far from the truth”
He described the governorship aspirants from Kogi east as merely green horn in politics who have no political records, claiming that they wanted to manipulate the primary election, but the party stood its ground
“I have contested election into the House of Representatives and won; into the Senate and won twice. None of the aspirants except Senator Attaye Idoko who has withdrawn has ever contested and won. Please leave Atiku out of it. This is the time for the PDP to come together and win.”
